Checks on nighttime entertainment venues in major cities were conducted over the weekend, including raids in Taoyuan and Kaohsiung and fines to those found contravening the government’s COVID-19 prevention measures.
Taoyuan police expanded their checks after the Central Epidemic Command Center on Thursday ordered all hostess clubs and dance halls to temporarily suspend operations after a woman who reportedly worked as a hostess at several clubs in Taoyuan and Taipei became the nation’s No. 379 confirmed COVID-19 case.
Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) yesterday said that police found 66 cases of clubs still operating or residents contravening quarantine and handed out fines totaling NT$13.84 million (US$459,755).
Photo: Wang Chieh, Taipei Times
Kaohsiung police and health officials raided four KTV parlors and restaurants where tip-offs said female hostesses were working.
Hostesses were working at two of the sites and the owners face fines ranging from NT$3,000 to NT$15,000, officials said.
In related news, a 23-year-old woman who reportedly works as a club hostess was detained for questioning in Tainan after she allegedly ran over an elderly woman yesterday morning.
She could face charges of driving under the influence as a breath test indicated she had a blood alcohol level of 0.5 milligrams per liter, Tainan police said.
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