Controversy has grown over a military reservist who was dismissed by officers after testing positive for COVID-19 while training. In response, the military said there is still room for improvement. Itamar Waksman has the latest.
The military still has to improve the way it deals with COVID-19. That was the word from Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng on Thursday.
Controversy has grown around the case of a reservist who was allegedly kicked out of camp by officials after he tested positive for COVID-19.
Chiu says that the reservist was not asked to leave until the day after he tested positive. He says that though military officials dealt with the situation, there is room for improvement. Still, Taiwan’s rising case count is clearly affecting military training.
Now, some are wondering if reservist training exercises should be paused.
In response, Chiu says that fighting COVID is a kind of war, and that like all wars it will have losses. He emphasizes that regular reservists training exercises will continue.
The minister adds that the military is already implementing epidemic control measures, like increased social distancing.
Additionally, the defense ministry has faced criticism for its civil defense handbook, published last month.
Some say that the handbook’s content is out of touch or impractical. In response, the defense ministry says it plans to release a new version in September.