Penghu County Commissioner Lai Feng-wei (賴峰偉) yesterday asked people from Taiwan proper to suspend any plans to visit the islands following a surge in locally transmitted cases of COVID-19.
The Penghu County Government has suspended the Penghu Fireworks Festival and other tourism events until June 8, Lai said at a disease prevention meeting.
“We urge students, police officers, civil servants and military personnel who are from Taiwan proper, but currently study or work in Penghu, to consider postponing trips home until after May 28. Those returning to work or school from Taiwan proper should observe self-health management guidelines for 14 days,” Lai said.
Photo: Liu Yu-ching, Taipei Times
Former Penghu County Government adviser Yu Kuo-lin (郁國麟) yesterday protested at Magong Airport and Seaport, telling travelers that they should focus on curbing the COVID-19 outbreak and that “Penghu does not want you to come now.”
The number of tourists visiting the islands has fallen by nearly 20,000 since May 13, the Penghu County Tourism Department said.
About 2,000 people arrived on Tuesday on domestic flights and 200 via ferry services, the department said.
About one-third of flights to Penghu have been canceled due to a sharp decline in the number of passengers, the Magong Airport Office said yesterday, adding that it has closed the airport’s northern entrance and one security screening line.
SERVICES CUT
Ferry services between Taiwan proper and the islands have been cut from three round-trip services per day to one per day, the county government said.
Airlines canceled 52 domestic flights to Penghu and 44 flights to Kinmen from Friday last week to Sunday, Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) data showed.
The average passenger load factor for flights to Penghu was at approximately 56 percent, the CAA said.
Prior to the surge in locally transmitted COVID-19 cases on Taiwan proper, nearly all flights departing for Penghu at the weekend were full, it said.
The average passenger load factor for flights to Kinmen has fallen from 80 percent to 51 percent, it added.
CANCELATIONS
“We have asked airlines to not charge passengers for canceling flights departing or landing at Taipei International Airport [Songshan airport] in light of the level 3 COVID-19 warning in Taipei and New Taipei City. Neither should airlines charge processing fees if passengers ask to change tickets or request refunds because of flight schedule adjustments,” the CAA said, adding that it has not received any complaints since Friday last week.
In related news, no lockdown is to be imposed on Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼), the Lanyu Township Office said yesterday, following more than three hours of discussion with residents, hoteliers and tour operators.
Prior to the meeting, residents on Orchid Island had proposed a lockdown, with hoteliers having voluntarily canceled reservations in the past few days to contain the COVID-19 outbreak.
However, some residents said during the meeting that a lockdown would not only affect the local tourism industry, but it could also bring inconvenience to people’s lives and hurt their livelihoods, the office said.
“We have decided not to impose a lockdown, but we would urge hoteliers to stop accepting reservations,” Lanyu Township Mayor Chang Ching-lai (張慶來) said.
Ferry operators have canceled services to Orchid Island from Pingtung County’s Houbihu Port (後壁湖) and Taitung County’s Fugang Fishing Port (富岡漁港) from tomorrow until Friday next week, the East Maritime Affairs Center said yesterday.
Ferry services to Taitung County’s Green Island (綠島) are to continue as usual, it said.
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