The military has been following the government’s health directives during the COVID-19 pandemic. That was the word from Deputy Defense Minister Chang Che-ping at the legislature on Monday. He was speaking after 24 members of Taiwan's navy were confirmed over the weekend to have COVID-19. All were members of a fleet on a Friendship Flotilla visit to Palau in March.
Lawmakers questioned the deputy defense minister about the outbreak and why the journey to Palau went ahead as planned. Chang said that the military follows the directives of the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC). He said they do not visit any country that has a confirmed case of COVID-19. If anyone is found to have COVID-19 in a fleet, they suspend the mission.
The "Friendship Flotilla" was made up of several ships, including the Panshih, the frigate Kang Ding, and the guided-missile frigate Yueh Fei. They visited Palau from March 12-15, returning to Kaohsiung on April 9. The crews adhered to CECC quarantine rules, remaining on board for six days, disembarking on Wednesday.
As to whether or not there had been an effort to conceal infections on board the ships, Chang said that an initial investigation was inconclusive. The CECC and the defense ministry have both set up task forces to investigate the matter.
Authorities moved quickly on Saturday to recall all 744 people who had been on the three ships, for testing and centralized quarantine. They also sent text messages to some 200,000 people whose cell phone data showed that they were in the same location as infected navy personnel for at least 15 minutes between April 15-18. They urged recipients to monitor their health, minimize their time in public, and wear a surgical mask when leaving home.
Deputy Minister Chang says that Taiwan helped Palau set up a testing center on April 9 and has two medical staff training local personnel. The center has tested over 30 of Palau’s medical workers, customs officials, and police officers. None have tested positive. They are working with Palau’s health department to conduct more large-scale testing.