The government is aiming to raise the number of hotel rooms used for quarantine to 10,000 to meet rising demand caused by Taiwanese returning home for the Lunar New Year holiday, which is from Feb. 10 to 16, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday presided over a ministerial meeting, in which he asked the Tourism Bureau to meet with local government officials and hotel association representatives to study the possibility of building a mechanism to balance the supply and demand of quarantine hotel rooms nationwide.
The goal would be to increase the number of quarantine hotel rooms to 10,000, he said, adding that Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Chi Wen-chung (祈文中) would oversee progress.
Photo: CNA
Quarantine hotels nationwide can provide about 16,000 rooms, with an average occupancy rate of about 50 percent, Tourism Bureau data showed.
More than 1,000 rooms could be added, the bureau said.
Some local government officials said that it would take at least two to four weeks before new hotels could accept guests who are required to undergo quarantine, as their facilities must first be inspected and approved by health and construction department officials.
In addition, hotel workers must be trained to handle guests in quarantine, they said.
Lin has asked Chi to discuss with officials if there is any way to shorten the preparation time for the hotels, which would help them meet demand faster.
As the Ministry of Health and Welfare is to start enforcing a one-person-per-room policy from Friday next week for those who must undergo quarantine, which could lead to a shortage of rooms, the bureau could consider encouraging people undergoing quarantine to stay at the family home, while other family members stay in a non-quarantine hotel, Lin said.
Families that do so would receive a daily subsidy of NT$800 per room, he said.
The bureau said that it is not immediately considering drafting hotels, as that would generate other issues, such as how much hoteliers should be compensated if they are forced to offer rooms for quarantine purposes.
Separately yesterday, China Airlines Ltd (中華航空) and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) announced that their flights to and from the UK would be canceled until the end of next month in view of the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic in the kingdom.
Both airlines had previously said that flights would be canceled until the end of this month.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
AMENDMENT: Climate change is expected to increase the frequency of high-temperature days, affecting economic productivity and public health, experts said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) is considering amending the Meteorological Act (氣象法) to classify “high temperatures” as “hazardous weather,” providing a legal basis for work or school closures due to extreme heat. CWA Administrator Lu Kuo-chen (呂國臣) yesterday said the agency plans to submit the proposed amendments to the Executive Yuan for review in the fourth quarter this year. The CWA has been monitoring high-temperature trends for an extended period, and the agency contributes scientific data to the recently established High Temperature Response Alliance led by the Ministry of Environment, Lu said. The data include temperature, humidity, radiation intensity and ambient wind,
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist
RSS