Crowd control measures should be implemented at night markets and other crowded areas to prevent cluster infections of COVID-19, an academic said yesterday.
Wayne Liu (劉喜臨), a professor at the Graduate Institute of Tourism Management at National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism, made the suggestion after large crowds gathered at tourist destinations during the four-day Tomb Sweeping Day long weekend, which ended yesterday.
The sight of tourist spots packed with people, some not wearing masks, on Saturday prompted the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) to send warning text messages to mobile phones in the areas to remind people to avoid crowded places and practice social distancing.
Photo: Chang Yi-chen, Taipei Times
Liu yesterday said that disease prevention at this point calls for the concept of “tourism carrying capacity,” which refers to the maximum number of people who can visit a destination without harming the environment and causing a decrease in the quality of the visitors’ satisfaction.
The government should adopt crowd control measures in not only closed spaces, but also open spaces, such as Pingtung County’s Kenting (墾丁) and Chiayi County’s Alishan (阿里山), by using infrared devices to limit the number of visitors, Liu said.
Sensors should also be placed at night market entrances to monitor foot traffic, Liu added.
The government should strive to protect the public’s well-being regardless of whether some people would try to circumvent its control measures, Liu said.
The CECC’s alerts on Saturday led to booking cancelations and requests for refunds, but hoteliers, despite complaining about the suddenness of the alerts, still prioritized disease prevention and cooperated with the government, Liu said.
The alerts were necessary, as the US and Japan saw infections soar after extended breaks, Liu said, adding that the spread of COVID-19 could get out of hand if large-scale community infections break out in Taiwan.
Tatung Institute of Technology’s Department of Travel and Leisure Management professor Kao Ming-tu (高洺塗) said that announcing crowd control measures and traffic regulations before the holidays, rather than in the middle of a long break, would reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread ing.
The CECC’s abrupt alerts not only led to losses in the tourism industry, but also spoiled people’s holidays, Kao said.
Should the pandemic continue, the government would hopefully learn from this experience and implement more thorough crowd control measures for the next holiday, Kao added.
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