The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) should provide emergency evacuation guidelines for people staying in COVID-19 quarantine hotels, the New Power Party (NPP) said yesterday, following a deadly blaze earlier this week that killed four people.
A fire at a quarantine hotel in Changhua County’s Chiaoyu Building on Wednesday injured 20 people, and killed a firefighter and three people who had been isolating there.
One of the people who died, Chen Chien-kuang (陳建光), who had been isolating after he returned from Thailand, filmed a video shortly before his death that went viral online.
In the video, Chen, 59, said he saw plumes of smoke from his room on the ninth floor, but did not know whether to leave or stay to observe quarantine rules and avoid fines.
People who leave mandatory quarantine in the cases of an emergency situation would not be fined for doing so, the center said on Thursday.
NPP Chairwoman and Legislator Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) told an online news conference yesterday that Chen Chien-kuang’s video exposed a systemic problem that people in COVID-19 isolation might not know how to evacuate in an emergency, such as a fire or earthquake.
The CECC should publish evacuation guidelines for people at quarantine facilities, and have facility staff conduct fire drills, Chen Jiau-hua said.
She also addressed the poor working conditions faced by firefighters.
The US, Japan and many European countries allow public servants to form unions, but firefighters in Taiwan are not permitted to do so, she said.
The NPP has been advocating for firefighters’ rights to form unions, so they can discuss work issues and negotiate with the government, she said, urging the government to address the matter.
NPP Changhua County Councilor Wu Wei-ta (吳韋達) also said that firefighters’ rights deserve more attention.
One firefighter in Changhua County has to protect 1,800 people on average, which shows that the county’s rescue capacity is insufficient, he said.
The blaze also exposed problems with building management, Wu said.
The Condominium Administration Act (公寓大廈管理條例) does not provide a legal basis for mandatory management of unused floors, he said.
Not inspecting unused floors poses safety risks to residents of the building, he said, calling for lawmakers to amend regulations and review the management mechanisms of prominent buildings.
The county government should soon publish a report on the rescue procedure of the hotel’s fire, Wu added.
As the Ministry of the Interior has also said it would investigate the blaze, it should work with the county government to clarify what caused the incident and outline improvement plans, he said.
Wu also expressed support for an appeal from the sister of firefighter Chen Chih-fan (陳志帆), who died in Wednesday’s blaze.
She on Friday called for a monument to be erected in honor of her brother, to remind people of firefighters’ sacrifices.
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of
The entire Alishan Forest Railway line is to reopen for the first time in 15 years on Saturday, with tickets to go on sale at 2pm today. The historic railway from Chiayi to Alishan (阿里山) is finally set to reopen after the completion of the final No. 42 tunnel, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office Deputy Director-General Chou Heng-kai (周恆凱) said. It is to run on a new timetable, with four trains daily, he said. The 9am train is to depart from Chiayi Railway Station bound for Shizilu Station (十字路), while the 10am train departing from Chiayi is to go all the
FLU CONTINUES: Hospitals reported 101,091 visits for flu-like illnesses last week, while 68 severe cases and 16 flu-related deaths were also reported, the CDC said The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported 932 hospitalizations due to COVID-19 and 64 related deaths for last week, adding that the number of people who had contracted new SARS-CoV-2 subvariants KP.2 and LB.1 has increased. The number of people hospitalized due to COVID-19 increased from 815 in the previous week to 932 last week, while 90 percent of the 64 deceased were aged 65 or older, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said. JN.1 was still the dominant variant among local and imported cases in the past four weeks, while KP.2 was the second-most common, Lin said. Cases with the LB.1 subvariant