The Taipei City Government yesterday conducted a simulation for a level 4 lockdown, which would close all nonessential businesses and bar entrance into the city.
The death toll from COVID-19 in Taiwan has surpassed that of SARS in a scene unfathomable at this time last year, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said.
There is evidence that the situation has stabilized over the past three days, as ambulances are no longer being turned away from hospitals due to a lack of beds, he said.
Photo: CNA
However, if the situation continues, “quantitative changes would create qualitative ones,” Ko said, asking what would happen if the city must lock down for months or if cases surge once more.
Therefore, the city must “plan for the worst to be best prepared,” he added.
In the simulation, participants led by Ko practiced mobilizing the city government to manage all levels of response with the goal of identifying problematic areas.
The first step would be commanding the Taipei Epidemic Command Center to remain open around the clock, while each administrative district would be instructed to set up disaster response centers, the city government said.
The city would also coordinate closely with the governments of Keelung, New Taipei City and Taoyuan, it said.
All schools and offices would be closed, and no one would be allowed to go outside except to buy food or seek medical treatment, or to perform other necessary or official duties, it added.
In addition, roadblocks would be erected to restrict movement between regions, the city said.
Seventy-one control points would be set up on access roads and highway ramps to restrict the flow of private vehicles into the city, while trains would not stop at stations within Taipei, it said.
All mass transit services would only operate within city limits, meaning that MRT service between Taipei and New Taipei City would be suspended, the city government said.
The YouBike service would also be suspended, it added.
Police would be dispatched for crowd control at markets, which would be instructed to restrict sales of certain items if supply becomes limited, it said.
About 21,000 essential businesses would be allowed to operate, including restaurants, bakeries, fruit and vegetable vendors, gas stations and supermarkets, it said.
Traditional markets would operate with limited hours, it added.
As for medical supplies, the city said it would seek assistance from the Ministry of Health and Welfare to establish backup hospitals and evaluate the potential of converting regional hospitals into specialized COVID-19 facilities.
It would also aim to provide 1,400 quarantine hotel rooms, it said.
If fatalities surpass the city’s daily cremation capacity of 224 bodies, temporary morgues could be established to store up to 200 bodies, it added.
Finally, the Taipei City Government said it would request assistance from the 6th Army Command 33rd Chemical Corps to sanitize the city, while 1,270 troops from the military’s disaster relief force could be deployed initially.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS