The 22 Taiwanese aboard the Diamond Princess cruise liner quarantined in Yokahama, Japan, must remain on the ship at least until Wednesday next week, when the current quarantine period is set to end, Taiwan-Japan Relations Association Secretary-General Kuo Chung-shi (郭仲熙) said yesterday.
Kuo told a Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) news conference that the quarantine period could be altered, as Japanese authorities are considering testing more of the ship’s passengers and crew.
The government is working closely with Japan to monitor the condition of the 22 Taiwanese on the ship, he said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had notified Japanese authorities that an 85-year-old Taiwanese passenger was suffering nosebleeds and coughing up blood, but the ministry had not received permission to have him taken off the ship, Kuo said.
Japanese doctors later boarded the ship to examine the man, and they gave him medication, after which he showed considerable improvement, Kuo said.
Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said that Taiwan’s representative office in Japan was in contact with the 22 Taiwanese on the ship and would provide any necessary assistance to them.
Despite the efforts to control the spread of the virus on the Diamond Princess, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare yesterday confirmed that another 39 people had tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases to 174.
Of the 39, 29 were reportedly passengers and 10 were crewmembers, including one of the ship’s quarantine officers.
A small number of Taiwanese this year lost their citizenship rights after traveling in China and obtaining a one-time Chinese passport to cross the border into Russia, a source said today. The people signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of neighboring Russia with companies claiming they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, the source said on condition of anonymity. The travelers were actually issued one-time-use Chinese passports, they said. Taiwanese are prohibited from holding a Chinese passport or household registration. If found to have a Chinese ID, they may lose their resident status under Article 9-1
Taiwanese were praised for their composure after a video filmed by Taiwanese tourists capturing the moment a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Japan’s Aomori Prefecture went viral on social media. The video shows a hotel room shaking violently amid Monday’s quake, with objects falling to the ground. Two Taiwanese began filming with their mobile phones, while two others held the sides of a TV to prevent it from falling. When the shaking stopped, the pair calmly took down the TV and laid it flat on a tatami mat, the video shows. The video also captured the group talking about the safety of their companions bathing
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