Members of the public have been donating pandemic prevention goods to healthcare workers and others essential in Taiwan’s response to COVID-19.
Among the donations was a delivery of 1,000 isolation gowns given to the Hsinchu County Fire Department on Thursday, containing no information about the donor, but reading “Super Junior.”
A woman who wished only be identified by her surname Hsieh (謝) later told the fire department that she represented the Ever Lasting Friends, a fan group of South Korean boy band Super Junior, which made the donation.
Photo: Lin Yi-chang, Taipei Times, courtesy of Chiayi County Government
The fan group has been holding annual events to celebrate its anniversary in June and band member Kim Ryeo-wook’s birthday on June 21.
The celebration, as well sending a gift to Kim, was impossible this year, she said.
Therefore the group decided to buy the gowns and send them to firefighters who are tasked with pandemic prevention measures, she said.
Photo courtesy of the Hsinchu County Fire Department
Earlier donations were made to Taipei and New Taipei City fire departments, Hsieh said.
Separately, Yuchueh Chaojen Temple in Taichung’s Wurih District (烏日) has donated 850 pieces of assorted virus protection clothing, including isolation gowns and masks, to the city’s Lin Shin Hospital.
Healthcare workers receiving the package said that the donation was proof that their hard work was not in vain.
Hospital superintendent Lin Ming-hui (林明輝) said that frontline healthcare workers arew working in the sun all day, conducting rapid COVID-19 tests and the temple’s donation was a great boon to the hospital’s pandemic prevention efforts.
In other news, Chiayi County Materials Bank on Friday unveiled a COVID-19 relief packages, including food and supplies to be distributed among 600 financially disadvantaged families in the county.
The materials bank is a joint venture of the Chiayi County Charity Union Association and the Chiayi Social Affairs Department, and was established in 2013.
The packages are intended for families that have lost their income due to the pandemic, as breadwinners were laid off, furloughed or had to quarantine, Chiayi County Commissioner Weng Chang-liang (翁章梁) said.
Over six months, eligible families would receive rice, noodles or instant noodles, cans with preserved food, pork floss, crackers, wet wipes and hand sanitizers, he said.
The program is designed to relieve the economic pressure on poorer residents, and maximize the use of resources by combining the capabilities of the public and private sectors, he said.
People in need can apply for care packages on the bank’s Web site chiayi-charity.org.tw, he said.
Additional reporting by Lin Yi-Chang
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