COVID-19: Trails, beaches shut to halt virus’ spread
REMAIN HOME: The Forestry Bureau said enforcement of mask rules for hikers was not feasible, and there was a shortage of medical personnel to rescue stranded hikers
By Lee Li-fa and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer
The Council of Agriculture’s Forestry Bureau on Saturday closed a dozen hiking trails in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County to tourists until Friday over COVID-19 concerns.
The enforcement of mask rules for hikers was not feasible, the agency said, adding that due to the outbreak, there was a shortage of medical personnel to rescue stranded hikers.
Compensation would be demanded from a hiker after he allegedly sparked an ongoing blaze that has consumed 65 hectares of forest at Yushan National Park, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said yesterday.
The fire was reported on Sunday last week, when about 1.5 hectares of forest were on fire, and has spread to bushland at higher altitudes.
COA Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) wrote on Facebook that the council intends to hold the people involved responsible, “regardless of station or rank,” citing Article 53 of the Forestry Act (森林法).
Accidentally setting a forest fire is punishable by up to two years in prison, a
COVID-19: Packages pose no heightened infection risk: expert
By Yang Yuan-ting and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer
COVID-19 infections transmitted via packaged fruit or packages sent by mail are unlikely, an infectious-disease expert said yesterday, reacting to reports of an employee at a fruit and vegetable wholesale market in Taipei testing positive for the virus.
Kuo Shu-chen (郭書辰), as assistant researcher and physician at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, urged people to remain calm, saying there have been no reports of the virus being transmitted by packages of food products.
Research using nucleic acid testing has found traces of the virus on packaging, but not the virus itself, Kuo said.
COVID-19: Test results made available via app
EXPRESS APP: The service should help reduce stress, officials said, adding that people should refrain from entering public spaces for three days following a test
By Yang Yuan-ting and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer
People can get COVID-19 rapid screening results via the National Health Insurance Express App, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday as it stressed the importance of not taking public transportation and staying away from public places within three days after being tested.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, made the remarks at the CECC’s daily briefing.
The next two weeks are critical for containing the COVID-19 outbreak, which hinges on the cooperation of confirmed cases and the public, infectious-disease experts said on Saturday.
After a sharp spike in cases, the Central Epidemic Command Center on Saturday raised the pandemic alert for Taipei and New Taipei City to level 3 until May 28.
While serious, Taiwan would make it through if the outbreak is contained over the next two weeks, said Chen Yee-chun (陳宜君), director of National Taiwan University Hospital’s (NTUH) Division of Infectious Diseases.
Cases have been climbing so rapidly due in part to the reluctance of confirmed cases