Taiwan has so far managed to keep COVID-19 in check without resorting to measures like the lockdowns seen in some other parts of the world. But allowing life to go on as normal doesn’t mean allowing life to go on exactly as it did before the pandemic began.
In public spaces across Taiwan, new rules are entering into force that aim to let people keep moving around freely while also keeping them safe and healthy. Some of the most stringent of these new rules are going into place in highway rest stops, places where large number of strangers from all over Taiwan come into close contact every day.
So far, Taiwan’s measures to fight COVID-19 have worked. But starting Thursday, Taiwan will face a new challenge- the first major holiday since the outbreak arrived here.
The Tomb Sweeping Festival sees heavy traffic each year, as some tidy up ancestral graves and others simply enjoy a long weekend. With the government calling for people to limit their tomb sweeping activities, crowds this time around are expected to be half their usual size. But highway rest stops are still packed, and they’re not taking any chances.
At the Qingshui Highway Rest Area in Taichung, both entrances are equipped with temperature scanners. Anyone with a fever is being turned away.
The rest stop’s manager says that masks aren’t yet mandatory, but they will be starting Thursday. That’s because in such a small space, there’s no way to keep people 1.5 meters apart as the government recommends.
Of course, you can’t eat with a mask on, and so to keep diners safe, half the tables in the dining area have been removed. In addition, people will not be able to sit across from one another- everyone must sit on one side of their table.
Finally, all taps on the bathroom sinks have been replaced with motion-activated faucets, leaving one less possibly contaminated surface to touch.