The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) is reviewing a disease prevention plan proposed by the Sports Administration to safely bring back Taiwan’s women’s soccer team from India, the administration said yesterday.
Eight players and staff members on the national squad were confirmed to have tested positive for COVID-19 while the team was competing at the Women’s Asian Cup, which ended on Sunday.
The administration said that it has proposed a disease prevention plan to ensure that the players and staff members receive the appropriate care upon their return to Taiwan today, adding that it was awaiting approval from the center.
Photo courtesy of the Chinese Football Association
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India was coordinating with the Indian government on charter flights to bring back the squad, the administration said.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, had said last week that players and staff who tested positive for COVID-19 and those who did not should be seated in different cabins.
“The seating chart will also be arranged based on if they had come in close contact with those who have contracted the virus, because it is possible that more new cases could emerge before they return,” he said.
In other news, the Maritime and Port Bureau yesterday denied that a COVID-19 outbreak at the Port of Kaohsiung — which began with a port pilot — has led to congestion and caused the port office to suspend operations, adding that ships have had no trouble entering or exiting the nation’s largest seaport.
Of the 44 pilots working at the Port of Kaohsiung, one had been isolated after contracting COVID-19, one had been told to observe self-health management guidelines and two others were resting at home with other illnesses, the bureau said.
The remaining 40 pilots tested negative following polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests administered by the Kaohsiung City Government, the bureau said, adding that all ships have had harbor pilots to guide them.
“In view of the outbreak caused by a pilot, we have required all harbor pilots to undergo two PCR tests before Feb. 8. Those who do not finish the tests would not be placed on the work roster. Starting on Feb. 9, all port pilots are only allowed to embark on ship if they undergo one PCR and one rapid test each week,” the bureau said.
Crew on ships must disinfect the vessel before a pilot enters the ship’s steering room, and pilots are required to wear protective clothing and keep at least 2m away from personnel in the steering room, the bureau said.
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