A delivery workers’ union on Friday objected to a government directive for deliveries to be made directly to the doorstep of people undergoing COVID-19 home quarantine, and has called for a national delivery team to help its workers avoid exposure to the virus.
The National Delivery Union said in a statement that people recruited for the proposed program could be issued personal protective gear and provided with subsidized wages.
The union’s call came after the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said that management offices or other staff of residential complexes should not prevent delivery people dropping off meals or daily necessities to people under home quarantine.
Photo: Huang Liang-chieh, Taipei Times
People who have tested positive for COVID-19 and are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, or those listed as close contacts of confirmed cases, can quarantine at home under revised quarantine guidelines.
“There would be a higher risk of COVID-19 infection in their community” if people were forced by necessity to leave their homes, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said at the CECC’s daily media conference on Wednesday.
Chen said that he did not understand the union’s concern, given that workers do not come into contact with quarantined people when making deliveries.
Complaints have been recorded regarding security guards or other staff stopping delivery workers from entering buildings.
The Taipei City Government on Thursday said that building managers could face fines from NT$10,000 to NT$150,000 for refusing delivery of food or essential items, citing Article 69 of the Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法).
The Kaohsiung City Government has issued 6,500 fines ranging from NT$3,000 to NT$15,000 for not cooperating with infection prevention measures, including denying food deliveries to residents undergoing quarantine.
There have also been concerns that delivery workers cannot enter some buildings that do not have a security guard or concierge to open the front door.
Chen said that in those cases, residents could “throw their keys” from their windows so that delivery workers could enter.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday that Chen’s remark shows that he has not considered the problems associated with this issue, and that he does not understand the anxiety of people under quarantine or the concerns of delivery workers.
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