The Taichung City Government is asking all hostess bars and dance halls to suspend operations as part of an administrative order from the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), the city said yesterday.
The CECC on Wednesday issued the order after a hostess in Taipei tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Individuals or establishments that breach the order face fines of NT$3,000 to NT$15,000, in accordance with the Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法), the municipality said.
Photo courtesy of the Taichung City Government
Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) said that similar businesses — KTVs, saunas, bars, nightclubs, “special service” cafes and arcades — are to continue to follow prevention guidelines, such as wearing masks, taking temperatures and observing social distancing.
The government is also enforcing new regulations for these establishments to record the names and telephone numbers of clients upon entry.
Lu said that the new regulations are being put in place not just because of the hostess case in Taipei, but also because of similar cases in the past.
The high client turnover at these businesses makes it difficult to track individual customers, adding to the difficulty of disease prevention and increasing the risk of local cluster infections, Lu said.
The city recognizes the concerns from the management of these businesses, but it asks them for their understanding and compliance in these trying times, Lu said.
Businesses must take special measures to maintain public health during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lu added.
Meanwhile, hostess bars on Wednesday closed early for establishment-wide disinfection after the Taipei Department of Health visited regarding the employee.
Hostesses typically come from third-party companies and do not have standing contracts with the hostess bars themselves, a source said, adding that the hostess who tested positive had been dispatched to other bars.
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