2021/01/28 17:40 Taiwan introduces restrictions on Lunar New Year holiday train seating (Wikimedia, mailer diablo photo) Taiwan introduces restrictions on Lunar New Year holiday train seating (Wikimedia, mailer diablo photo) TAIPEI (Taiwan News) In order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) during the Lunar New Year holiday, trains will introduce restrictions on the types of tickets they sell, reports said Thursday (Jan. 28). From Feb. 8 through Feb. 16, Taiwan High Speed Rail will not allow passengers to travel without reservations, temporarily suspending the practice of allowing non-reserved seats, UDN reported. On its express trains, the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) will reduce the number of standing-only tickets to a maximum of 120 passengers per train.
Officials brace for holiday traffic
POLICY ADJUSTMENTS: Standing passengers would be limited to 15 per carriage, the TRA said, while high-speed rail service over the holiday would only offer reserved seating
By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter
Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday told officials to closely monitor Lunar New Year holiday traffic, as many people might opt to drive amid a rise in locally transmitted COVID-19 cases.
Lin also told the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA), Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) and bus operators to prepare to offer additional services to holiday travelers.
The TRA would limit the number of standing passengers on intercity train services to no more than 15 per car, or about 120 per train, it said, adding that such restrictions would not apply to commuter services.
Lo Yi-chun. Photo courtesy of the CECC
Taipei, Jan. 28 (CNA) Although it is still unknown how the two latest domestic COVID-19 cases in Taiwan became infected, genome sequencing has shown that one of them is linked to the cluster infection at Taoyuan General Hospital, Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) officials said Thursday.
The two cases, which were announced by the CECC on Sunday, are a husband and wife in their 60s. The husband was an inpatient at the hospital from Jan. 8-11 due to health problems unrelated to COVID-19, during which time his wife looked after him.
Over the weekend, both of them tested positive for COVID-19 after displaying symptoms, even though they had no known contact with any of the 13 previously confirmed cases linked to the hospital.
Health and Welfare Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) / Photo courtesy of the CECC
Taipei, Jan. 28 (CNA) Taiwan on Thursday confirmed two new imported cases of COVID-19 and reported no locally transmitted cases for the fourth consecutive day, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
One of the new cases is a Taiwanese man in his 20s who returned from the United States on Sunday, said Health and Welfare Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, at a press briefing.
He began to have a distorted sense of smell during quarantine, and his COVID-19 test result came back positive on Thursday, Chen said.