2021/05/26 17:00 (CNA photo) TAIPEI (Taiwan News) The grace period for going maskless has expired, and now anyone in Taiwan going out without a mask will be hit with immediate fines, Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) head Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) announced during the COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday (May 26). In light of the Level 3 COVID-19 alert in the country, which mandates mask wearing in public, law enforcement personnel are no longer required to give warnings to people who are maskless before issuing tickets, the CECC head said. Instead, violators can be slapped with fines right away. However, there are exceptions. If people suffering from dementia, who must be accompanied by a caretaker when outside, occasionally lower their masks under their chin, they will not be fined, Chen said.
The thought-provoking editorial “Tackle the coronavirus now” (May 18, page 8) has prompted significant feedback at home and abroad, including penetrating coverage in a Time magazine article on Friday last week, titled “How a false sense of security, and a little secret tea, broke down Taiwan’s COVID-19 defenses.”
Analyzing “how Taiwan’s COVID-19 defenses failed,” the article implied that a series of related government malpractices and an undesirable public response should be held accountable.
The scarcity of vaccine doses made the scenario worse, the article added.
It is imperative that the government does its utmost to mend the situation and contain the
COVID-19: Yulon expects COVID-19 restrictions to hurt sales
AUTO CHIP SHORTAGE: Yulon Nissan and Luxgen Motor have raised their chip inventories, so there would not be a supply issue until July, Yulon Motor’s vice president said
By Lisa Wang / Staff reporter
Yulon Nissan Motor Co (裕隆日產), which distributes Nissan and Infiniti vehicles in Taiwan, yesterday said that a spike in COVID-19 infections would dent local automobile sales this quarter as people are opting to stay at home amid restrictions on public movement.
“We expect the pandemic to impact car sales in May, June and July. At this stage, it is premature to say how big the impact will be,” Yulon Nissan spokesman Joseph Hsiung (熊金鐸) told an online investors’ meeting. “It will hinge on whether the government will impose more stringent measures to curb the infections.”