Taiwan’s largest opposition party, the KMT, has occupied the legislature in protest against the government’s former quarantine policy for pilots. KMT lawmakers prevented Premier Su Tseng-chang from addressing the legislature on Friday.
Starting on April 15, Taiwan allowed long-haul flight crews to quarantine at home for three days before undergoing eleven days of self-health management. International travelers, meanwhile, were still required to undergo two weeks of isolation upon arrival.
In the weeks following the policy change, Taiwan began experiencing its most severe outbreak of COVID-19. That outbreak led to the beginning of a nationwide soft lockdown beginning May 19.
KMT lawmakers say that the change in quarantine policy was the root cause of the subsequent outbreak of COVID-19 in Taiwan.
On the request of KMT lawmakers, Taiwan’s Cabinet resubmitted its report on the quarantine policy to the legislature on Friday. In the report, Premier Su Tseng-chang says he is sorry for all the people in Taiwan who have suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Su says that Taiwan adopted the quarantine policy after careful consideration by health professionals and epidemiologists. He says that there is no clear evidence that the change in quarantine policy was the cause of Taiwan’s subsequent outbreak of COVID-19.