The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday temporarily banned two more Indonesian recruitment agencies from sending migrant workers to Taiwan due to COVID-19.
With immediate effect, migrant workers from the recruitment firms PT Bumenjaya Eka Putra and PT Mitra Sinergi Sukses are prohibited from entering Taiwan, bringing to eight the total number of agencies facing such restrictions.
The center on Friday announced it had added PT Laatansa Lintas and PT Prima Duta Sejati to the list of firms temporarily banned from sending workers to Taiwan. The center first banned four Indonesian recruitment firms on Friday last week: PT Sentosa Karya Aditama, PT Vita Melati Indonesia, PT Ekoristi Berkarya and PT Graha Ayukarsa.
Photo: Reuters
The move came after the CECC in the past few days confirmed several new imported COVID-19 cases, most of which were migrant workers arriving from Indonesia from the recruitment firms.
Indonesia is on Taiwan’s “high-risk” list for COVID-19, as it has been reporting about 5,000 new cases per day and has a 14 percent test positivity rate, the CECC said.
According to Ministry of Labor data, 4,119 Indonesian migrant workers have arrived in Taiwan since last month, of which 50 have tested positive for COVID-19.
The CECC has been conducting a rolling review of its entry policies, trying to balance Taiwan’s domestic labor requirements and public health concerns, Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said.
Agencies hoping to be removed from the ban list can apply to the CECC through the Indonesian government, but they must provide evidence that they have tightened their epidemic prevention measures and have not been connected to any new COVID-19 cases, Lo said.
As of yesterday, Indonesia has reported 522,581 COVID-19 cases and 16,521 fatalities, according to statistics compiled by Worldometer.
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