NOWnews TAIPEI — The Department of Information and Tourism, Taipei City Government announced on Thursday (Dec 18) some prevention measures ahead of the annual New Year’s Eve party, including a name-based registration system and the recommendation of wearing masks. Taipei Tourism Bureau staff will call for participants to scan QR codes and leave their names and contact information online before they can join the countdown party. Wearing masks will not be mandatory but the government strongly advises participants to wear their masks because it will be difficult to maintain social distancing at the public event. If there is one confirmed local transmission of unknown origin over the next week, the city government said that the public will be forced to wear face masks during the celebrations.