The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday said it has asked the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) to coordinate with three Taiwan-based airlines to improve their quarantine measures for flight crew members at layovers. It also reported six new imported cases of COVID-19.
The CECC’s request came after the discovery of a cluster infection related to case No. 765, an EVA Airways pilot from New Zealand who is suspected of having transmitted the disease to two other pilots during a flight to the US on Dec. 12, and to a woman during his rest days in Taiwan.
The woman — case No. 771, reported on Tuesday — became the first locally transmitted COVID-19 infection in Taiwan since April.
Photo: CNA
The cluster infection sparked a public debate over special quarantine rules for flight crew members.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, yesterday said that shorter home quarantine periods for airline crew members — three days for pilots and five days for flight attendants — aim to help airlines keep operating, but the carriers must meet certain standards first.
The strict disease prevention measures that must be taken on board airplanes, at layover locations and upon returning home are why flight crew members can be exempted from the 14-day mandatory quarantine, Chen said.
However, the cluster infection shows that the airline has failed to thoroughly implement disease prevention measures, he said, adding that airlines should be held accountable.
The center has asked the CAA to discuss with the airlines how they can improve their management of crew members practicing disease prevention measures, especially at layover locations, as well as the punishments for airlines whose personnel fail to implement the measures.
Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥), who is the deputy head of the center, said on Tuesday evening that flight crew members of Taiwan-based airlines have been on about 54,000 duties since March 19, and 23 cases of quarantine rule breaches have since been reported.
Of those, 13 occurred at layover locations and 10 occurred in Taiwan, he said.
Chen Tsung-yen yesterday said that disease prevention measures for flight crew members include having them ride designated vehicles to a hotel after arriving in a layover location, where they would be banned from leaving the hotel, but recent cases show that airlines need to improve their supervision of crew members at layovers.
The CAA and the airlines have been asked to present their improvement plans and punishment principles within a week, he said.
The six imported cases reported yesterday are three migrant workers from the Philippines, and two fishermen and one migrant worker from Indonesia, Chen Tsung-yen said.
They all provided negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results issued within three days of boarding a plane to Taiwan, he said.
The Philippine workers — two women in their 20s and 30s, and a man in his 20s — arrived in Taiwan on Dec. 8 and 9, did not show any symptoms at arrival, but tested positive upon ending centralized quarantine on Monday and Tuesday, he added.
The Indonesian is a woman in her 30s who arrived Taiwan on Nov. 27, did not show any symptoms, and had twice tested negative in an expanded testing project on Nov. 27 and upon ending centralized quarantine on Dec. 10, Chen Tsung-yen said.
One of the fisherman, who is in his 30s, arrived in Taiwan on Dec. 3, and stayed at a quarantine hotel until Thursday last week, Chen Tsung-yen said.
The other fisherman, who is in his 20s, arrived in Taiwan on Thursday last week, Chen Tsung-yen said.
CSBC Corp, Taiwan (台灣國際造船) yesterday released the first video documenting the submerged sea trials of Taiwan’s indigenous defense submarine prototype, the Hai Kun (海鯤), or Narwhal, showing underwater navigation and the launch of countermeasures. The footage shows the vessel’s first dive, steering and control system tests, and the raising and lowering of the periscope and antenna masts. It offered a rare look at the progress in the submarine’s sea acceptance tests. The Hai Kun carried out its first shallow-water diving trial late last month and has since completed four submerged tests, CSBC said. The newly released video compiles images recorded from Jan. 29 to
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to make advanced 3-nanometer chips in Japan, stepping up its semiconductor manufacturing roadmap in the country in a triumph for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s technology ambitions. TSMC is to adopt cutting-edge technology for its second wafer fab in Kumamoto, company chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said yesterday. That is an upgrade from an original blueprint to produce 7-nanometer chips by late next year, people familiar with the matter said. TSMC began mass production at its first plant in Japan’s Kumamoto in late 2024. Its second fab, which is still under construction, was originally focused on
DETERRENCE EFFORTS: Washington and partners hope demonstrations of force would convince Beijing that military action against Taiwan would carry high costs The US is considering using HMAS Stirling in Western Australia as a forward base to strengthen its naval posture in a potential conflict with China, particularly over Taiwan, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. As part of its Indo-Pacific strategy, Washington plans to deploy up to four nuclear-powered submarines at Stirling starting in 2027, providing a base near potential hot spots such as Taiwan and the South China Sea. The move also aims to enhance military integration with Pacific allies under the Australia-UK-US trilateral security partnership, the report said. Currently, US submarines operate from Guam, but the island could
The partisan standoff over President William Lai’s (賴清德) proposed defense budget has raised questions about the nation’s ability to adequately fund its own defense, the US Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in a report released on Tuesday. The report, titled Taiwan: Defense and Military Issues, said the government has increased its defense budget at an average annual rate of 5 percent from 2019 to 2023, with about 2.5 percent of its GDP spent on defense in 2024. Lai in November last year proposed a special budget of about US$40 billion over eight years, and said he intends to increase defense spending to
RSS