[Global Times special correspondent in Taipei Cui Mingxuan] A high school student in northern Taiwan has been diagnosed with new crown pneumonia, and this campus case has aroused a high degree of vigilance on the island. On the 16th, after a number of counties and cities announced that teachers and students were prohibited from leaving the country, the DPP authorities also announced that they would follow up.
Counties and cities have followed suit
Hou Youyi, the mayor of New Taipei, fired the first shot. On the 16th, he announced that teachers and students below the high school level were prohibited from leaving the country in principle before the end of June. This decision was supported by both the blue-green camp and the parents of the students. Dpp New Taipei City Councilor He Bowen said that in the current epidemic situation, if you can cooperate, you should try to cooperate as much as possible. Zhou Shengkao, a kuomintang new taipei city councillor, said the policy was well-intentioned, but it was not too long to leave the country before the end of June.
Taoyuan Mayor Zheng Wencan announced on the 16th that he would follow up. He said that the global pandemic has formed, the risk of tourism has increased significantly, and all outbound plans of public schools at all levels of the municipal government will be suspended before the end of August, and private schools will be suspended. The Taichung Education Bureau announced that before the end of this semester, teachers and students below the public and private high school level are prohibited from leaving the country, and if there are special reasons, the exit plan must be sent to the Education Bureau for review, and whether the ban will be extended depending on the development of the epidemic. Keelung City and Chiayi City also announced that the school's plans to leave the country until July 14 will be suspended.
There are also some counties and cities that have different practices. Taipei Vice Mayor Huang Shanshan said on the 16th that banning the exit of the country is restricting the rights and freedoms of the people. However, the Taipei Municipal Education Bureau said that in principle, teachers and students at all levels in Taipei City are prohibited from leaving the country until July 14, and if they need to leave the country because of special needs such as competitions, they can report to the Education Bureau for approval. On the evening of the 16th, Chen Shizhong, commander of Taiwan's "Central Epidemic Command Center," announced that the "Executive Yuan" adopted the command center's suggestion and considered it inappropriate to leave the country during this period, so it was decided that teachers and students below the high school level would be prohibited from leaving the country until the end of the class day of this semester. In addition, Taiwan's life insurance industry leader Cathay Life Insurance announced on the 16th that from now on, all employees should not leave the country unless necessary, whether it is on official business or private travel.
The number of warning areas at the third level increased by 42
Huang Limin, chairman of the Infectious Disease Medical Association, said that there is nothing right or wrong in itself to ban teachers and students from leaving the country, but is there really such a need now? Because there are not many students leaving the country, and at least more than half of the countries and regions frequented by Taiwanese people can no longer go, he does not think that this policy will make much difference in epidemic prevention. Zhang Xuzheng, chairman of the General Federation of Teachers' Trade Unions in Taiwan, said that anyone who leaves the country will have a risk of infection, but the "Executive Yuan" travel ban is only for teachers and students in primary and secondary schools, and "the measures are a bit excessive and unreasonable."
In recent days, Taiwan has added a number of imported confirmed cases. On 14 March, there were three new confirmed cases on the island, all of which had a history of European activities. On the 15th, Taiwan added 6 confirmed cases of overseas migration in one go, and on the 16th, the number of new confirmed cases reached 8, a new high, and the number of confirmed cases has reached 67. The confirmed cases were imported and visited to Spain, Germany, Greece, the Czech Republic, the Philippines, Egypt and Turkey. In order to strengthen the vigilance of epidemic prevention, Taiwan announced that in addition to Iran, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and other countries that have issued third-level warnings, 13 countries in Eastern Europe, 15 countries in the Middle East and one region, 5 countries in North Africa and 9 countries in Central Asia will be upgraded to the third-level warning from 00:00 on the 17th, and Taiwanese people should avoid all non-essential tourism in the local area. As a result, the number of areas listed by Taiwan as a third-level warning increased by 42. On the evening of the 16th, Taiwan's "Ministry of Foreign Affairs" adjusted the 25 Schengen countries other than Italy (the current travel warning has been a red light) and the tourist warning lights of the United Kingdom and Ireland to red. Chen Shizhong also said that for those tourists who deliberately go to the third-level tourism epidemic warning area, there will be no subsidy of NT$14,000 for home quarantine; If a subsequent diagnosis is confirmed, his name will be published and a fee will be charged.
"The Second Wave"
According to Zhongshi Electronic News, the new crown pneumonia epidemic spread from the first wave of mainland China, Japan and South Korea to the second wave of Europe. Zhang Shangchun, convener of the command center expert advisory group, said that the recent increase in the number of cases of European migration can be said to be the pressure of the "second wave of the epidemic" has begun. According to the United News Network, the first wave of Taiwan's epidemic prevention will defend the mainland, the second wave will defend Europe, and the third wave may change the Americas. Huang Yucheng, a professor-level attending physician in the Department of Pediatric Infections at Chang Gung Hospital, said that after the second wave of international epidemic peaks in Europe, the Americas are likely to become the source of the third wave of international epidemic attacks, and Taiwan is now only regulating 3 states in the United States, and it is difficult to ensure that there will be no loopholes. Huang Gaobin, director of the Department of Pediatric Infection at the Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University in Taiwan, said that Taiwan is facing a second wave of attacks from abroad, and holding the community has become a test.
"China Times" published an editorial on the 16th, saying that some foreign media have recently reported on Taiwan's epidemic prevention results, and the Internet is full of praise, but this epidemic prevention war will be very long, and it is impossible to lose the final victory just to win the first battle and immerse yourself in joyful complacency. Taiwan is currently facing "five hidden worries": First, excessive self-intoxication; The second is excessive "god-making", "mask real-name system" was started by Singapore, combined with the application on the Internet, has long been implemented in many cities on the mainland, but some officials of the authorities have been touted as heroes; The third is political operation. The DPP authorities have used the epidemic to call on the international community not to let Taiwan be excluded from the WHO system, which can be described as "politically making the country rich"; Fourth, Taiwan is very decisive in preventing and blocking the epidemic on the mainland, but it lacks vigilance against the epidemic in Japan, Europe and the United States; Fifth, taiwan already has an initial community infection, and once there is a further cluster or chain of infection, "can we achieve a complete lockdown like the mainland?" The article bluntly said that excessive complacency and neglect of future crises, taking advantage of the opportunity to seek political benefits are harmful to others and harm themselves, "we want to retreat from this storm, so that all efforts may not be available, there is no need to calculate some of the no, epidemic prevention is not only the first, but also should be the only."
Source: Global Times