Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je has announced that the city will begin fining people up to NT$15,000 (about US$500) for not wearing a mask outside their home. That was one of many new measures the mayor announced at a press conference on Sunday.
Taiwan saw a record high of 206 domestic cases on Sunday, just one day after the city announced a new Level 3 COVID alert after 180 cases were confirmed on Saturday.
Mayor Ko says it is clear that Taiwan is dealing with a community outbreak. At this point, he says, it is important to keep infected people from spreading the virus.
Mayor Ko and New Taipei Mayor Hou You-yi have also suspended classes for 9th and 12th graders in Taipei and New Taipei City beginning on Monday, May 17. Ko said that’s because more than 200,000 ninth-grade students came into close contact when they took the high school entrance exams this weekend. Twelfth grade students are also preparing to take college entrance exams in the near future.
Four elementary schools in Taipei’s Wanhua District will also suspend classes for a week. That’s because they are located in the vicinity of a major outbreak. The four elementary schools are Taipei Municipal Lao-Song Elementary School, Taipei Municipal LongShan Elementary School, Taipei Municipal Ying-Qiao Elementary School and Taipei Municipal ShuangYuan Elementary School.
Public funeral services are also canceled at Taipei’s First and Second Funeral Parlors.
Beginning on Monday, May 17, Taipei City government employees will work from home. The mayor is also urging all Taipei residents to avoid all unnecessary appointments or activities.
Taipei city authorities will be inspecting venues citywide to make sure they are following the city’s disease prevention rules.
The mayor says that extreme times call for extreme measures. He is asking the public to be understanding and support the measures.