With fears about the Delta variant of COVID-19 growing, Taiwanese people have been told they’ll have to forego one of their favorite annual traditions this year: the Mid-Autumn Festival barbecue.
It all started with TV commercials for soy sauce three decades ago promoting the virtues of an autumn barbecue. The message took root in Taiwan, and these days, having a barbecue on the evening of the Mid-Autumn Festival has become the way Taiwan’s people celebrate the holiday.
But not this year. While the Delta variant of COVID-19 has yet to make serious inroads into Taiwan, fears it soon could have prompted 16 of Taiwan’s 22 administrative divisions to ban the practice this year.
The announcement, roughly two weeks before this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival, is bound to leave many disappointed. But at least Taiwan’s people have been given ample time to find more socially distanced ways of celebrating.