The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Friday said that businesses and large commercial venues that attract crowds can require customers and ticketholders to wear a mask, depending on the type of activity and the risk of transmission.
When large numbers of people are at department stores, hotels, gyms, indoor playgrounds, movie theaters and other large commercial settings for extended periods, close contact would raise the risk of transmission of COVID-19 and other respiratory infections, so it recommends that appropriate protective measures be taken, the center’s new guidelines state.
Such settings should step up communication with people with chronic pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease or other such ailments; people with hemoglobinopathy or other disorders that affect their red blood cells; people with immunodeficiencies that require long-term treatment; pregnant women; and people with a weak immune system, and ask them to avoid going to crowded places during the outbreak, the guidelines state.
Photo: Tsai Shu-yuan, Taipei Times
Such places should clean and disinfect their spaces, especially surfaces that are frequently touched such as elevator buttons, escalator handrails and exercise and playground equipment, as well as bathroom surfaces such as faucets, handles and toilet seats, the guidelines state.
They should maintain good ventilation and try to keep a distance of at least 1m between facilities or seat people apart and limit the number of people who can enter to ensure that the space is not overcrowded, the guidelines state.
The guidelines also suggest posters be placed at entrances or ticket offices reminding people to wash their hands and of respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette.
Businesses and venues should arrange for employees take customer’s temperatures and assess their symptoms and persuade those with fevers or respiratory symptoms not to enter, and to refund their tickets, the guidelines state.
They should set a plan for monitoring employees’ health and prepare a supply of gloves and masks to respond to a situation where an employee or customer feels ill, including establishing spaces that could be used as quarantine or resting areas, the guidelines state.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman