Strict measures forcing the cabin crews and pilots of local airlines to be quarantined at home between flights to combat COVID-19 were put into effect on Friday, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said.
All flight crews working on long-haul passenger flights that require them to enter a foreign country to rest would be subject to five days of home quarantine after returning to Taiwan, said Clark Lin (林俊良), director of the CAA’s Flight Standards Division.
The home quarantine period for cargo flights would be three days, Lin said.
Photo: Yao Chieh-hsiu, Taipei Times
Prior to Friday’s announcement, flight crews of domestic airlines were exempt from the requirement set on March 19 that all people entering Taiwan from abroad must quarantine themselves at home for 14 days to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The new guidelines allow for quarantine periods of fewer than 14 days, because such flexibility is necessary for the aviation industry to transport passengers overseas and carry essential supplies, Lin said.
Under the rules, once crew members have arrived in foreign countries, they must be transported separately to designated hotels and isolated there until the return leg, while reporting their body temperatures every day.
At home, the crew members are not allowed to leave their homes at all during their five-day or three-day quarantines.
If they are to spend more than five or three days in Taiwan between flights, they must remain in quarantine for 14 days, but can go out to handle daily living needs, Lin said.
“The airline companies must arrange for these people to seek medical treatment if they develop symptoms” while in isolation at home, he said.
The change in standard operating procedures for quarantines for flight attendants and pilots is because of the changing status of the pandemic, Lin said, adding that short-haul flight personnel would not be affected.
Previously, airline crew were not subject to the home-quarantine requirement as long as they followed the standard operating procedures while overseas.
That practice raised concerns, particularly this week after two cargo flight pilots with China Airlines were confirmed to have contracted the disease.
Meanwhile, also starting on Friday, all migrant caregivers and domestic helpers who enter Taiwan are to undergo their 14-day mandatory quarantine together at a government-appointed facility, the Ministry of Labor said.
The measure was taken to help ease any problems household employers might face in finding a location for their newly arrived caregiver or domestic helper, as all people arriving in Taiwan, including Taiwanese, must undergo home quarantine, the ministry said.
The government-appointed facilities include 400 beds run by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and another 230 beds being planned with the help of manpower agency associations, it said, adding that all costs would be covered by employers.
Due to the limited number of beds, employers would need official paperwork, starting yesterday, to prove that their newly hired worker has been approved to stay at one of the facilities before the worker can be brought into the country, the Ministry of Labor said.
Newly arrived migrant workers in the manufacturing sector would do their mandatory quarantines at locations organized by their companies or brokers, it said, adding that the locations would be approved by the government to meet quarantine requirements, such as having one person per room.
Quarantine is mandatory for all migrant workers who boarded their planes after 4pm on March 17, regardless of where they are coming from.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is
RSS