The Taipei City Government is to hold drills on Sunday to simulate the implementation of a level 4 COVID-19 alert, city government spokeswoman Chen Chih-han (陳智菡) announced yesterday.
Although the city held a level 4 alert simulation last year, the drills would be conducted again in response to the changed COVID-19 situation, she said.
Taipei authorities on Thursday agreed on priorities for the drills, which would simulate the closing of businesses, movement restrictions for people and vehicles, changed public transportation operations, and the sale of essential goods, a city government source said.
According to provisional guidelines, retail venues and large markets would remain open, the source said, adding that homeless people would be relocated.
Taipei Department of Civil Affairs officials were told to prepare a contingency plan for the disposal of bodies in case fatalities due to COVID-19 overwhelm the city morgue, they added.
The simulation would involve the Taipei departments of civil affairs, transportation, education and economic development, they said.
In response to media queries, Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥), who is the Central Epidemic Command Center deputy commander, said that the level 4 alert simulation would be similar to natural disaster response drills that are regularly conducted by all the nation’s local governments.
Additional reporting by Chien Hui-ju
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