A non-governmental organization (NGO) that helps migrant workers on Saturday distributed more than 1,000 medical-grade masks to migrant fishers in Yilan County.
Members of the Migrant Workers’ Concern Desk from Saint Christopher’s Church in Taipei distributed the masks, along with about 200 donated jackets and sweaters to hundreds of migrant fishers.
Father Gioan Tran Van Thiet, the church’s assistant parish priest, who visits migrant fishers in Yilan weekly, said the masks were donated by Philippine migrant workers in Saudi Arabia.
He said that fishers who live and sleep in cramped conditions on fishing boats can be vulnerable to infections.
Nguyen Van Va, who is from Vietnam’s Nghe An Province, said he really appreciated the masks and was unaware that Taiwan had implemented mask rationing.
“My employer did not tell me anything,” he said. “The last time I purchased masks was last year and this year I have been working long hours and I did not have time to go and buy masks.”
Demand for masks has surged amid fears over the spread of COVID-19, and shortages have forced the government to ration purchases to two per person per week at pharmacies contracted by the National Health Insurance system.
Marites Lopez Hingpis, a caregiver in the county’s Nanfangao (南方澳) port, said she frequently needs to accompany her patient to hospital, but her employer does not provide masks.
The measures announced by the Ministry of Labor on Jan. 30 to help combat the spread of the virus require employers to provide masks to employees if the employees’ jobs involve them visiting hospitals.
There are more than 2,000 migrant fishers in the Yilan area, the Yilan Migrant Fishermen Union said.
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