COVID-19

Postman forks out NT$30,000 for his own gas mask for protection against COVID-19

postman wearing gas mask
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Not satisfied with the protective capacity of a mere surgical mask, a postman spent NT$30,000 (US$1,085) to purchase a gas mask to protect himself and others against COVID-19, according to reports in China Times, and ET Today. The Chunghwa Post employee, who is unnamed in reports, but referred to by the pseudonym “Mr Postman,” drew the praises of thousands of readers after his story was posted to a Facebook breaking news group. The author of the Facebook post said that

Read more

Cops raid family funeral and issue fines after neighbors inform of illegal gathering

Society 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment ,

Police in Nantou County raided a funeral and issued fines to eleven family members, Saturday, June 5, after neighbors informed the police of an illegal gathering. Chen Zhiwen, deputy sub-director of the Puli Police Station said that police had received a report Saturday that “twenty to thirty” people had gathered in Guoxing Township, against epidemic alert Level 3 mandates that limit gatherings to a maximum of five people indoors, and 10 people outdoors. Police rushed to the scene to find

Read more

COVID patient stabs 3 nurses in New Taipei City hospital

New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi visits injured nurse in hospital
Violent Crimes 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A man confined to a negative pressure isolation unit in a hospital in Zhonghe District, New Taipei City, stabbed three nurses with a knife after becoming emotionally unstable this morning. According to an SETN report, at around 7:20 am, a 62-year-old man named Hong became dissatisfied with being unattended in the isolation unit on the 11th floor of Taipei Medical University Shuangho Hospital, and attempted to leave. When nurses attempted to prevent him from leaving, he became angry and slashed

Read more

How China undermines Taiwan’s national anti-COVID success with local-government actors

Ko Wen-je and Hou You-yi the twin city mayors
Politics 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , ,

Taiwan managed to keep the lid on COVID by being smarter than most other countries, more wary perhaps, by being closer to the original source of the virus, and most importantly by avoiding mass testing, using technologies that were questionable for use for even for well-known disease agents. During early days of the outbreak, in 2020, Taiwan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Central Epidemic Control Center (CECC) decided to implement border controls, put people into a 14 day quarantine upon

Read more

Concerned citizen calls 119 on sunbathing woman

woman confronted by paramedics after being reported for sunbathing
Society 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

A woman sunbathing outside a sports stadium in New Taipei City was apparently misidentified as an accident victim, after a concerned member of the public witnessed her lying in the sun while not wearing a surgical mask yesterday, May 20. The New Taipei City Fire Department received a report at 8:00 am that a woman was lying on the ground and not wearing a mask on the terraced steps outside the Xinzhuang Gymnasium. Paramedics rushed to the scene dressed in

Read more

Business, tourism districts ghost towns, but supermarkets packed with crowds after epidemic warning raised to Level 3

composite image of Taipei 101 and people shopping in supermarket
Business and Economy 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment ,

People stayed away from normally crowded areas including Taipei City’s Xinyi District, and popular tourist hotspots such as Jiufen, but supermarkets in residential districts around Greater Taipei were crowded with people who waited in cues for up to an hour to stock up on such survival essentials as toilet paper and instant noodles, today, Saturday, May 15. The crowded supermarkets versus empty streets phenomena appeared after the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) reported 180 new cases of COVID-19, leading to

Read more

Supermarket shelves emptied of epidemic survival products as residents fear possible lockdown

Costco supermarket empty shelves and crowds of shoppers
Business and Economy 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

People rushed to supermarkets this evening, Wednesday, May 12, to stock up on supplies of products such as instant noodles, toilet paper, and disinfectant alcohol after the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) raised the epidemic alert warning to Level 2, and the mayor of New Taipei City hinted that a city-wide lockdown could happen. CECC Director Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) told the media this morning that Taiwan could soon be under an epidemic warning Level 3, after 16 cases tested positive

Read more

Pilots under pressure: keeping your job is a challenge for locals and foreigners alike

pilots wearing ppe on long haul flights
Aviation 
Phillip Charlier 2 Comments ,

The Novotel hotel at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport will no longer provide accommodation to foreign pilots after an outbreak of COVID-19, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said, Friday, April 30. Health and Welfare Minister and Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) director Chen Shih-chung said that the most likely source for the infection was a foreign pilot, and that foreign pilots have “divergent” behaviors, being less likely to follow instructions for epidemic prevention. Four of 10 CAL pilots who tested

Read more

Poll indicates majority of Taiwan’s population unwilling to swap masks for vaccine

online poll image
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , ,

A majority of people in Taiwan would prefer to continue wearing masks over taking a vaccine for COVID-19 according to poll results on Yahoo News. Yahoo began conducting the poll after the Minister of Health, Chen Shih-chung said that mask mandates will be lifted after “vaccination rates reach a certain level.” The statement was made as a response to a question during a press conference, April 21, in which a Reuters report was quoted pointing out that Israel [somewhat] relaxed

Read more

Less than one-third of Taiwan’s medical professionals willing to take Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine

AstraZeneca vaccine vial and NHA data card
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Preliminary results from a survey of medical personnel working in hospitals that treat COVID-19 patients in Taiwan has revealed that less than 33% are willing to take the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said today, March 16. With results received from 90% of those asked to take the survey, 32.7% responded that they were willing to receive what many media agencies euphemistically refer to as “the jab.” “About 90 percent of medical personnel at those hospitals,

Read more

Rumors afoot that Beijing is backing down on anal probes for COVID-19

anal probe for COVID-19
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Chinese language media outlets in Taiwan and other Chinese speaking communities outside of China are saying that people arriving in Beijing will no longer be subjected to anal probing for the “novel coronavirus” COVID-19, but there is no guarantee that foreigners will be exempt. Beijing authorities instigated anal swab testing in late January, ahead of the annual Lunar New Year Holidays. The Washington Post said at the time that “Some Chinese doctors say the science is there.” Fortunately, that meme

Read more