The government is negotiating with Japanese officials to arrange the evacuation of Taiwanese passengers quarantined on a cruise ship off the coast of Yokohama, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said yesterday.
The Diamond Princess, with about 3,500 passengers and crew on board, was placed under a 14-day quarantine on Feb. 4, when it was scheduled to dock in Yokohama. Confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection on the ship have been rapidly increasing since then.
The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare yesterday said that 67 new cases of COVID-19 infection have been confirmed, bringing the total number of infected passengers and crew to 285.
Photo: EPA-EFE
While the US government is making arrangements to evacuate Americans from the ship, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said that it has also been negotiating with Japanese officials to conduct a similar operation.
Two Taiwanese passengers who had been confirmed to have been infected with COVID-19 were hospitalized in Japan for treatment, it said.
“We have been discussing evacuation plans with Japanese authorities,” said Chen, who heads the CECC. “They have shown a responsible attitude, so we can trust them.”
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
He said a charter flight would be arranged to bring the Taiwanese home once officials agree on the details of the evacuation.
The evacuation from the cruise ship would not involve prioritizing vulnerable people, as was the case during an evacuation of Taiwanese from Wuhan, China, and all 20 passengers would be brought back, he said.
“We will arrange a China Airlines (中華航空) flight,” Chen said. “The Japanese authorities are very careful in handling the case, so the problem at hand is how to bring them back, rather than whether we can bring them back.”
Separately yesterday, the CECC said it has instructed healthcare professionals to test, when in doubt, people who have visited Singapore or Thailand 14 days prior to entering Taiwan for COVID-19 and who have a fever or sore throat.
The move is in response to the spread of the virus in the two countries, the CECC said.
Additional reporting by CNA
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from