countries: 中國 香港

content_text:
金融業傳出首例確診，且個案當事人是刻意隱瞞出國事實，連累公司同事、室友與其公司遭殃，多家金控對此不僅重申全員不出國要求，連金控董事會都可能要改視訊方式召開，永豐金控（2890）就研擬疫情嚴重則4月起董事會可能改為視訊會議，開發金控（2883）董事代表不乏外國人、居住中港人士，視訊設備俱全，就看何時啟用。

新公布確診案例54傳出為某外資券商分析師，且為刻意隱瞞公司出國旅遊，屬境外移入病例，殃及室友、同事波及多家金融業。因此各大金控集團緊急聲明或是再次重申、升高等級，要求金控各子公司全員都避免出國，要出國請假須報告並獲准假，且回國須自主隔離14天。另外，各金控也紛紛展開分地、分組辦公、異地備援等，分組人員開會就以視訊方式，避免異地辦公者還相互接觸。

至於金控董事會，各家金控例行會議一月一次，原本不在視訊進行優先考量，但疫情升溫跡象下，永豐金已在研擬可能4月董事會就改採視訊方式，而開發金因為董事代表人本來就有外國人，還有董事居住在中國大陸與香港，因此董事會視訊開會設備已齊備之下，本月底董事會如就改以視訊召開，也無問題。

開發金控
 永豐金控

title: 金融業首傳確診  金控董事會也要改視訊


content_text:
美國聯準會（Fed）再度大動作降息，3月以來兩度緊急降息累計達6碼，銀行業進行中的2%美元高利定存再掀下架潮，小資族也能存的1,000美元起存王道銀行高利專案，也快要額滿，預估明天、17日可能就關門提前下架，等於只剩下約13小時左右，想存的趕快上網動動手指搶存。

王道銀行6個月期利率2%的美元高利定存專案，起存門檻只要1,000美元，換算不過新台幣3萬元上下，比起一般銀行美元高利定存多數起存門檻1萬美元，堪稱小資族福音。王道銀行該專案原定4月底截止，前次Fed突降2碼時，多家銀行提前下架美元高利定存專案，王道銀行開會後決定暫時觀望，尚不提前下架，吸收不少來不及換匯、搶定存無門的資金，如今Fed再次大降息，王道銀行開會後，評估該美元高利定存專案即將額滿，預估將提前至17日午後下架。由於王道銀行是全數位通路，24小時網上轉存操作，小資族想存不妨趕緊滑滑手機操作。

title: 美元高利定存掀下架潮 先搶先贏


countries: 英國 中國

events: 新冠病毒 新冠肺炎 COVID-19 死亡

title: 英國鼓舞民眾：拿出對抗「納粹空軍」的團結精神　打敗病毒捍衛生命！

content_text:
▲英國為了鼓舞民眾對抗新冠肺炎，喚起納粹空襲記憶。（圖／路透）

記者林彥臣／綜合報導

從中國武漢爆發的新冠肺炎（COVID-19）蔓延全球，英國政府為了鼓舞民眾對抗新冠肺炎的防疫意識，15日公開提及二戰時英德空軍在倫敦上空的慘烈空戰，鼓舞民眾鬥志。

根據《路透社》報導，英國政府呼籲全國民眾，拿出當年對抗納粹空軍的團結精神和堅韌不拔來一起對抗新冠肺炎。

英國衛生大臣漢考克（Matt Hancock）表示，「我們這代人從沒有遭遇過這樣的『試煉』但我們的祖父母經歷過這樣的考驗，他們挺過了二戰，在納粹的閃電式空襲（Blitz）中生存下來。」

漢考克描述了不列顛空戰時期英國普通人生活的細節，儘管遭到徹夜的空襲，還要忍受食物定量配給和親人的亡故，「但我們的祖父母沒有屈服」，全國上下團結一心抗敵，「今天，輪到我們這代人接受考驗了，我們面對的是全新的病毒，必須打敗它來捍衛生命」。

▲英國衛生大臣馬特漢考克（Matt Hancock） 。（圖／路透）

在不列顛空戰中，英國面對盟友淪陷、孤軍奮戰、內部失敗主義盛行的局面，時任首相邱吉爾曾發表傳為佳話的抗敵宣言：「你們會問，我們的政策是什麼？我只能回答，我們的政策是努力戰鬥，在海上、陸地上、空中，盡展上帝所賦予我們的全部力量，與一個有史以來從未見過的殘酷暴君戰鬥，這便是我們的政策。你們會問，我們的目標是什麼？我能夠用一個詞來回答你們，這就是——勝利」。

近日，英國兩個各由數百人組成的科學家團體發佈公開信，「公眾要求立即在全英國採取更有力的擴大社交距離措施」以及「關於新冠病毒的致英國政府公開信」，質疑英國政府在疫情面前延遲高可見度措施、尋求「群體免疫」的行動方針，並敦促政府採取更為嚴格的擴大社交距離措施。

截至目前16日晚間，英國已有1372例確診，35例死亡。


countries: 美國 中國

title: 米高梅集團宣布：關閉「拉斯維加斯」所有賭場　5月前不接受客房預訂

content_text:
▲米高梅集團宣布關閉旗下位於拉斯維加斯的所有酒店。（圖／取自MGM Resorts臉書）

記者林彥臣／綜合報導

從中國武漢爆發的新冠肺炎（COVID-19）疫情重創美國，為了防堵疫情進一步擴散，米高梅酒店集團（MGM Resorts）及永利度假村集團（Wynn Resorts）宣布關閉旗下位在拉斯維加斯的所有賭場。

米高梅集團發布聲明指出，從16日起，關閉旗下位於拉斯維加斯的所有賭場，17日起暫停酒店服務，開放服務時間將另行通知。集團發言人表示，米高梅酒店5月1日前不接受客房預訂；針對被解僱的員工將獲發從上一次上班日起計兩周的薪資，所有醫療福利將維持到6月30日。

永利度假村集團宣布，將於周二下午6時起關閉拉斯維加斯的賭場及酒店兩周，之後會再評估情況，期間會向所有職員工支薪。

拉斯維加斯金沙集團（Las Vegas Sands）表示，旗下兩間在賭城大道（Las Vegas Strip）的酒店及賭場會繼續開放，目前不考慮裁員，或更改員工的醫療福利。

►酒精乾洗手下殺3折！～爆搶防疫神水來囉～


title: 快訊／歐盟建議：全歐實施「旅行禁令」30天　暫停非必要出入境

content_text:
▲巴黎戴高樂機場票務櫃台前，旅客戴著口罩排隊等候。（圖／路透）

記者王致凱／綜合報導

歐盟執委會主席馮德萊恩（Ursula von der Leyen）16日提出，歐盟國家應禁止所有「非必要旅客」入境，藉此遏止新冠病毒傳播。馮德萊恩補充說，設想中的旅行禁令實施期為30天，必要時得以延長。

馮德萊恩透過推特上傳影片表示，「旅行得越少，我們就越能控制病毒，因此正如我剛剛告知我們的七國集團伙伴一樣，我建請各國元首和政府領袖對非必要旅行設下限制。」

馮德萊恩同時聲明說，下列人員應獲得豁免，包括歐洲國家公民的家屬、必要工作人員（如醫師、護理師），以及必要貨運承攬人員等。


countries: 台灣 中國 俄羅斯

content_text:
▲新冠肺炎（COVID-19）疫情延燒，衝擊旅運需求，國際油價16日跌破30美元大關。（圖／達志影像／美聯社）

記者林淑慧／台北報導

新冠肺炎（COVID-19）疫情延燒，歐美各國收緊旅遊禁令，衝擊原油市場需求，布倫特原油價格16日大跌超過9%，創四年來新低，紐約商品交易所西德州中級原油也下滑5.64%，來到每桶29.59美元，跌破30美元大關。

受沙、俄兩大產油國從減產改為增產以及中國境外COVID-19 疫情蔓延等因素影響，導致國際原油價格崩跌，倫敦北海布倫特原油昨日5月交割價跌至每桶30.56美元，創下2016年2月以來最低點。

油價專家表示，油市因為沙烏阿拉伯與俄羅斯等重要產油國掀起價格戰而面臨壓力，加上新冠肺炎疫情延燒，衝擊原油市場需求引發憂心，本周油價走勢仍是易跌難漲。

國際油價持續走跌，也為用車人帶來小確幸。台灣中油15日宣佈本周汽油零售價格每公升調降3.8元，調整後的油價分別為92無鉛汽油每公升20.3元、95無鉛汽油每公升21.8元、98無鉛汽油每公升23.8元、超級柴油每公升17.7元。

title: 全球收緊旅遊禁令　國際油價跌破30美元「創四年來新低」


taiwan-subdivisions: 桃園 中壢

title: 桃園青埔「跳氣」事件　議員要求新建案施設天然氣管線

content_text:
▲議員謝美英要求青埔新建案，要施設天然氣管線。（圖／翻攝自網路）

記者楊淑媛／桃園報導

洗澡洗到一半沒熱水，煮飯煮一半沒天然氣，原因竟是「共用壓力不夠，跳錶」？桃園市議員謝美英16日於市議會定期大會進行經發局工作報告指出，中壢有許多新建案，尤其是青埔地區，住屋率逐年提升，今年2月間青埔部分路段發生「跳氣」，住戶詢問瓦斯公司，得到的答案是：「全青埔人共用壓力不夠，錶跳掉」！

桃園青埔地區，拜便捷交通之賜，以及綠地面積多、各項重大建設推動，使區內人口不斷增加，然謝美英說，今年2月18日，青埔地區有些路段晚間突然發生「跳氣-天然氣跳錶」，那天剛好低溫，跳氣時間正值下班後，晚間洗澡、煮飯用水用電高峰期，住戶詢問瓦斯公司，得到的答案是：「全青埔人共用壓力不夠，錶跳掉」，因為使用量高峰期，造成低溫那一天沒有熱水可洗澡，不少青埔住戶氣得跳腳！

▲青埔地區因各項重大建設推動，人口激增。（圖／翻攝自網路）

另外，也有幾個新建社區，標榜電梯透天，人口數不多，但戶戶有電梯。他們遇到的情況是，電纜線離他們的住家有一段路，拉很長，一有風吹草動，電纜線一掉，家裡就停電。這類型住宅，萬一有人被卡在電梯裡，怎麼辦？

謝美英表示，民生能源公用事業部分，主管機關是經濟部，在地方上則由經發局擔任溝通協調的角色。她要求經發局站在經濟發展面，主動橫向連繫、了解各項開發案的管線問題，不要等到完工使用了才發生跳電跳表。尤其是青埔地區，各項重大建設正在逐項完工，針對能源問題，務必做到周全完備、安全第一。

對於青埔地區，目前有不少新建案並沒有施設天然氣管線，住戶只有電力及瓦斯桶兩種選擇。新建案興建期間，對原有的居住戶已有不少生活上的干擾，既已開挖工地、大興土木，何不一次把可以預做的管線先埋設？謝美英強調，如果各單位能整合推動接管，管線不必重覆挖、埋，既可減少施工次數，又能降低接管成本，接管率提升，進一步提升生活品質。

►生火了！連我媽都用到發光


title: 獨／新北里長澄清「出發時疫情不嚴重」　17日3點抵達桃機搭小黃「就地解散」

content_text:
▲新北瓦磘里里長林綺芳揪20人遊西班牙。（圖／翻攝PTT）

記者羅婉庭／新北報導

新北市中和區瓦磘里里長林綺芳10日帶團前往西班牙旅遊，消息一出引發撻伐，林綺芳在16日晚間聯繫《ETtoday新聞雲》澄清，他們出發前並不知道歐洲疫情嚴峻，抵達西班牙後第二天就決定提前返台，預計17日下午三點抵達台灣，將會搭乘防疫計程車就地解散，且成員「不是全部住在中和」。

林綺芳表示，這趟旅行是在去年初決定，當時不知道會發生疫情，出發前團員覺得沒問題，「我身為里長，有婉轉的請他們考慮是否取消，但是仍有14位里民想要去，身為里長責任有責任保護他們，並不是因為要領一萬四，且當時疫情並不嚴重」。

林綺芳說，他們原本要到香港轉機，後來香港疫情升溫改搭阿聯酋到杜拜轉機，第一天行程都在巴賽隆納市區，第二天就搭飛機到葡萄牙，當時得知疫情愈趨嚴重，旅遊團就決定要提前返台，因此取消飛往馬德里的班機，請旅行社協助訂購從葡萄牙至杜拜轉機回台灣的飛機。

她說，原本前天就該抵達台灣，不料杜拜返台的班機又被取消，因此該旅行團16日晚間8點就抵達杜拜，旅行社安排飯店等候飛往曼谷轉機，預計17日下午3點就會抵達台灣，在杜拜期間，團員也幾乎都待在飯店。

林綺芳表示，該團成員在飛機上全程戴口罩，目前身體狀況都正常，沒有任何新冠肺炎的症狀，成員在旅途中都有做好防疫措施，並提醒回台後要依規定做好居家隔離14天，為了保護成員隱私，已取消機場巴士，將全數搭乘防疫計程車自行返家，她也強調，自己會先到隔離飯店去做隔離檢疫，由里幹事協助其他里民居家檢疫事宜。

最後她哽咽表示，希望不要再繼續發生網路霸凌，網友惡意攻擊他的家人，更遭多位里民打電話謾罵，造成這樣的誤解她感到很抱歉，該團成員不是全部住在中和，她個人不會去領一萬四。

該團出發前3天，外交部將德國、法國、西班牙旅遊警示提升為第二級，外交部又於14日宣布，17日起西班牙、葡萄牙等共計28國旅遊警示提升到三級警示。西班牙是義大利後受影響最嚴重的歐洲國家，13日報告的死亡人數上升了50%，達到120人，感染人數增加到4231人，病例集中於馬德里自治區。

對於該團出發前西班牙早被列入旅遊警示二級區域，林綺芳回應，政府並沒有規定不能出國，她後向團員提出是否取消後，不少成員認賠退團，但仍有里民想如期出遊，她認為自己有責任保護要去的團員，最後約有15名成員出發。

新北市民政局長柯慶忠表示，目前僅能加強宣導呼籲各里長，近期勿再帶團出國旅遊，因此林綺芳帶團出遊不需要請假或通報區公所或市府。民政局地方行政科科長陳炳仲則表示，里長是無給職也非公務員，不需要跟區公所或市府請假，因此帶團出遊不需要通報上級，若違反相關規定，會按照規定處理，且市府事前並不知道她里長帶團出國，外交部給國人的警示也「只是個建議」。

▲新北市中和區瓦磘里里長林綺芳群組揪團訪歐。（圖／讀者提供，未經同意請勿轉載）

▲新北瓦磘里里長林綺芳揪20人遊西班牙。（圖／翻攝PTT）

references: PTT 網友

events: 死亡 新冠肺炎

countries: 法國 西班牙 香港 葡萄牙 台灣 義大利 阿聯 德國

taiwan-subdivisions: 新北 中和區 新北市


title: 「隨機殺人唯一死刑」！他號召活動：無限期支持立法　1天4萬人表態參加

content_text:
記者趙蔡州／綜合報導

新北市新店13日發生隨機殺人案，一名王姓男子與妻子吵架後，持刀捅死路邊無辜路人，消息報導後震驚社會各界。有網友事後在臉書發起活動，無限期支持政府立法，街頭隨機殺人者唯一死刑，15日上線至今短短1天，就有超過14萬人有興趣、3.9萬人表示支持。

發起人在臉書號召網友舉辦一場「無限期支持立法，街頭隨機殺人者唯一死刑」活動，詳情寫到「只因為心情不好，吵架或失控，隨意奪取他人性命者，不適合談論人權，應該用獅子、老虎、鱷魚攻擊參觀動物園的民眾後，一樣的撲殺手法」，舉辦地點還定位在台北市立法院。

▲網友在臉書號召舉辦「無限期支持立法，街頭隨機殺人者唯一死刑」活動。（圖／翻攝自臉書）

活動立刻在臉書引發熱烈討論，有人說，「現在隨機殺人的，哪個會說自己是正常」、「精神病不該是逃離死刑的理由」、「寶貴的性命不是一句精神病就能潦草帶過」、「整天講人權人權的，請問死者人權呢，殺人奪命不用付出代價嗎」、「跟老婆吵架就殺人，殺人後才說有精神病，真是逃死的好藉口。」

還有人說「台南割喉案曾文欽曾經說過，在台灣殺1.2個人不會被判死刑，果然一語成讖無期徒刑免死定讞，一個進步安全且沒有死刑的社會，是理想的，但理想很豐滿，現實是骨感，我支持死刑而且我自認是理性的」、「法律是為了保護人民，讓人民享受安全的生活，台灣的法律卻不斷的傷害我們。」

▲王姓男子與妻子吵架後，持刀捅死路邊無辜路人。（圖／記者陳雕文攝）

新店隨機殺人事件發生後，廢死聯盟執行長林欣怡在臉書表示，即使網友經歷過鄭捷、小燈泡及《我們與惡的距離》後，發生事件仍是差不多的反應，並提出10點叮嚀網友及社會大眾，「希望我們的社會可以消化這次的恐懼跟不安」。

文內強調，「不要叫廢死聯盟踹共，人不是他們殺的，他們只是堅持自己的理念而已，但是並不是因為他們呼籲廢除死刑，所以才有隨機殺人案發生」，希望大家可以保持理性。

references: 網友 臉書

taiwan-subdivisions: 新北市 獅子 新店

things: 人權 廢死


title: 中和里長20人出國「3/17提前回台」！民政局清查全市　西葡團時程表曝光

content_text:
▲里長林綺芳揪20人爽遊西班牙，團員出發前開心比讚。（圖／翻攝PTT）

中央社訊

疫情嚴峻，新北市有里長率團遊歐洲，預計明晚回台，依規定可領新台幣1.4萬元居家檢疫補助；中和區公所認為已成防疫負面示範，更擔心成防疫破口。

新北市民政局表示，中和區瓦磘里里長林綺芳去年12月間就開始組團，接受里民報名，當時歐洲疫情仍不嚴重，他們3月10日出遊西班牙、葡萄牙時，還只是2級旅遊警示。

民政局表示，經了解，當初團員疑因捨不得取消出遊的團費損失，才會執意出團，但由於出遊地點3月14日升級為3級警示區，依規定返台居家檢疫14天，還能領取1萬4000元的補助。

▲事件曝光後，林綺芳緊急關閉臉書。（圖／翻攝PTT）

民政局表示，里長不是公務人員，出國不用向市府請假，因此，市府對里長率團遊歐一事不知情，事後查證，全市各里長都沒有組團出遊的計畫。

中和區公所表示，雖聯繫不到仍在國外的里長本人，但透過家屬確認全團已提前返台，預計明天晚上飛抵台灣；市府超前部署認真防疫，但此事已成防疫的負面示範，若再有團員染疫返台，將重創市府形象。

公所表示，已連夜查證團員名單並報請相關單位落實採檢，也會嚴格執行14天的居家檢疫，以及指示里幹事代理里長職務，以期里政及基層防疫工作推動不中斷，至於團員是否會領取居家檢疫補助屬個人權益問題，區公所不過問。

references: 臉書 PTT

countries: 葡萄牙 西班牙 台灣

taiwan-subdivisions: 中和 中和區 新北市

things: 防疫 人權


content_text:
記者蕭采薇／綜合報導

南韓大勢男團GOT7巡迴演唱會《GOT7 2020 WORLD TOUR ‘KEEP SPINNING’》原本應該正在世界巡迴中，只是突如其來碰上新冠肺炎疫情，使得原先預定的許多場次皆面臨取消或延期。成員BamBam近來開直播，透露想念舞台的心情。

▲GOT7成員BamBam透露想回到舞台。（圖／翻攝自IG）

GOT7成員BamBam近日開直播，原本是跟著音樂微微舞動，接著突然表示有話想說。BamBam透露：「很想展現魅力，想要跳舞、想要唱Rap，把寫好的歌表演給大家看，想穿華麗的衣服站在舞台上。但是，現在只能在家穿睡衣，或是練習時穿運動服，很遺憾。」

▲GOT7成員BamBam透露想回到舞台。（圖／翻攝自IG）

短短幾句話，就說出了面對巨大疫情而活動受到影響，近而希望早日回到舞台的心情。粉絲也心疼的說：「對愛豆而言舞台是生命啊！」、「不能表演他們一定是最難受的人。」而GOT7最後一次舞台，已經是1月初的金唱片頒獎典禮，距離現在超過已經兩個月沒有公開演出。

▲GOT7世界巡迴演唱會舉辦到中途，突然受到新冠肺炎影響。（圖／翻攝自Instagram／GOT7）

title: 新冠肺炎疫情衝擊！GOT7兩個月沒演出　BamBam說出真心話：好想站在舞台上


taiwan-subdivisions: 永和 三重 新北 永和區 中正

content_text:
記者黃巧雯／綜合報導

這個3月，新北三重、永和區的貓奴們超有福氣！東森寵物雲三重中正北店針對貓咪用品、玩具、零食推出優惠，消費滿2000元還可以展示一張寶貝的照片，放在店裡的相框牆上，讓大家欣賞你家寵物多可愛！永和得和店同樣推出貓咪活動，更為喵主子開闢「包年洗澡8折」優惠服務，毛爸媽快來體驗。

▼可愛的寵物照片牆，成為寵物雲三重中正北店最美的風景。（圖／東森寵物雲商店）

即日起至3月底，該店的貓咪跳台、便盆、玩具皆是滿千折百，CIAO肉泥特價10包559元、懷石肉泥39加價購（限一人一包）的特價，另外，貓咪美容洗澡單次享8折優惠。最特別的是，只要在店內消費滿2000元，即可展示一張寶貝的照片在店內的寵物牆！

▼寵物雲三重中正北店、永和得和店的貓咪用品，都有很棒的優惠等著您來採買。現在就來為主子挑一件吧！（圖／東森寵物雲商店）

▼永和得和店照護貓咪不遺餘力，店內長期做貓咪認養活動，已經幫不少貓咪找到合適的家，未來貓咪認養櫃也將再升級優化。（圖／東森寵物雲商店）

▼永和得和店開出不同於一般的美容包月服務，而是罕見地做「包年」（三次洗澡一年使用）8折優惠，就等著毛爸毛媽們帶著貓咪來洗香香囉。（圖／東森寵物雲商店）

▼永和得和店也針對新朋友做了不少活動，有興趣的飼主歡迎參觀選購。（圖／東森寵物雲商店）

▼如您對三重中正北店、永和得和店的活動感興趣，歡迎加入Line帳號，由門市人員直接為您服務。

▼三重中正北店▼

▼永和得和店▼

title: 「毛孩照片牆」成最美風景！　三重、永和貓奴快到寵物雲商店搶優惠


countries: 韓國 日本 中國

title: 《花木蘭》聯名飾品浪漫登場！揪男友戴李翔情侶對戒超甜蜜

content_text:
編輯／Emily 圖／翻攝自lloyd.elandmall.com、k-uno.co.jp

《花木蘭》真人版電影雖然受到疫情影響延期上映，不過相關聯名商品還是陸續登場。韓國首飾品牌LLOYD先前就出過多款公主對戒，這次則是推出全新《花木蘭》系列飾品，有花朵造型耳環、項鍊，展現清秀小女人氣質，還有木蘭、李翔情侶對戒，揪男友一起戴超甜蜜。

#木蘭花組合

以木蘭花為靈感設計的項鍊和耳環，是金色鏤空花朵圖案，其中一片花瓣用粉色寶石裝飾，戴起來低調唯美。

#木蘭劍組合

木蘭代父從軍使用了木蘭劍，以劍為靈感設計的項鍊、戒指，造型不會過於女性化，金色飾品用紅寶石點綴，看起來特別帥氣。

#扇子組合

木蘭穿著女裝時還是很溫柔婉約，以木蘭用過的扇子為主題，搭配珍珠做成的耳環、項鍊典雅清秀，戴起來很氣質。

#紅色組合

圓型的紅色項鍊和耳環造型簡單、顏色搶眼，這款圖案設計讓人想到電影中紅色皇宮的屋頂，造型很有中國風。

#情侶對戒

木蘭與李翔的情侶對戒超級浪漫，金色戒指設計簡約，戒指表面刻上名字，還鑲了三顆小鑽，男版是白鑽、女版是紅鑽，跟另一半一起戴最甜蜜。

#耳環系列

小顆的耳環系列款式很多，有木蘭爸爸送她的髮簪、燈籠、小涼亭…，每個樣式都跟電影有關聯，戴在耳朵上小巧可愛。

這系列會在3月13日正式開賣，想要的話要密切注意。此外，日本飾品品牌K.UNO最新飾品系列，是專為寶寶設計的飾品，其中一款小飛象戒指造型超可愛，銀色立體的小飛象做工精製，搭配淺藍色寶石看起來超Q，戴在寶寶胖胖的手指上有夠萌。戒指售價57,090日圓（約台幣16,368元）。

►《庫洛魔法使》聯名飾品勾起回憶！夢之杖項鍊美哭 小櫻、知世閨蜜戒好浪漫

►迪士尼娃娃進入夢鄉好療癒！小鹿班比、愛麗絲打哈欠萌樣融化你的心


title: 女星曝日本佛系防疫：超過想像！當地「戴口罩人不足3成」

content_text:
記者許皓婷／綜合報導

日本境內新冠肺炎疫情延燒，選美皇后徐至琦日前剛好在當地旅遊，便透過臉書分享疫情爆發後的所見所聞，讓她直呼：「日本的防疫真的好佛系，台灣防疫棒棒。」

徐至琦表示自己沒有要批評日本，純粹講述今年2月～3月初日本的實況，並提醒旅客加強自我防疫，她更認為日本的防疫佛系，並大讚台灣防疫非常棒，針對自己赴日旅遊，她解釋2月疫情已邁入緊張，本來想取消行程，但已在去年都排定，她怕影響並造成隊友不便，她便決定帶足「自我防疫用品」赴日。

▲徐至琦曝日本防疫佛系。（圖／翻攝自Facebook／徐至琦）

而徐至琦2月到了日本，她透露機場內的各種員工鮮少戴口罩，「讓我們覺得訝異，我們是活在平行世界嗎？」除了機場，她表示飯店櫃台員工也都沒戴口罩，除了打掃衛生與餐廳內的員工以外，她的隊友詢問後，得到的回答是：「因為是服務業，展現笑容是日本服務業的根本，戴上口罩會讓住客產生負面觀感不可信任感，我們飯店都有提供乾洗手，請放鬆心情。」打開電視後，她更發現日媒對於疫情報導度並不高，僅輕描淡寫地告訴民眾要自我防疫。

徐至琦體驗到日本的防疫後，關於疫情，她表示各國處理的態度都不同，除了給予尊重、加強自我防疫或乾脆不去，是唯三能做的，她透露自己目前已經回台自我隔離中，「一切健康，為台灣頑強的防疫點讚！」

▲徐至琦發文。（圖／翻攝自Facebook／徐至琦）

references: 臉書 Facebook

countries: 日本 台灣


content_text:
記者阮巧雯／綜合報導

新冠肺炎持續在全球造成嚴重感染和死亡，各地人心惶惶，對此，來自美國討論度最高名媛家族「豐臀金」金卡戴珊（Kim Kardashian），PO出12年前一位靈媒就曾預言2020年將爆發致命肺炎書籍，立刻在網路上引起熱議。

▲金卡戴珊（左）分享姐姐寇特妮（右）傳在家庭群組中的靈媒預言截圖。（圖／翻攝自IG／kimkardashian、kourtneykardash）

金卡戴珊Twitter上傳一張姐姐寇特妮傳在家庭群組的截圖，一本靈媒Sylvia Brown 2008年寫的書，內容寫道：「大約在2020年，全球將爆發一場致命肺炎，它會對肺部及支氣管造成傷害，而且所知醫療方法都無用。」

內文更是預言︰「而且這個疾病會突然地結束，就像它突然爆發一樣，但是10年之後會再次爆發，之後就會完全消失。」表示2030年會再次爆發致命肺炎，但自此就會徹底消失。

▲靈媒Sylvia Brown預言2030年會再次爆發一場致命肺炎。（圖／翻攝自Twitter／KimKardashian）

PO文馬上引起熱議，不少網友看了都驚呼：「我今天也有看到，瞬間起雞皮疙瘩」，但也有不少人留言反駁：「請妳不要在非常時期散播這種不實謠言」、「靈媒總是能預言這種事，卻從來沒中過一次樂透」、「我也可以預言100件事，然後中一件」。

title: 靈媒12年前神預言新冠肺炎！　「2020將爆發致命肺炎」：10年後會再次發生

references: 網友 Twitter

events: 新冠肺炎 死亡


title: 竹縣濱海區域整體發展納入竹縣國土計畫

content_text:
記者黃誌寬／新竹報導
 新竹縣長楊文科16日表示，竹縣濱海區域發展提升到戰略等級，正式納入新竹縣的國土計畫。
 楊文科縣長肯定農業處剛執行完竣的新豐坡頭漁港轉型工程，成功工打響竹縣海洋遊憩的第一砲，歡迎被疫情宅在家的朋友，相約走覽海天一色、漁人碼頭的風光。
 楊文科表示，竹北新月沙灣到新豐坡頭漁港全長十二公里，人文自然地景豐富、海岸線沿途風光綺麗，但新竹縣近年來的經濟、觀光發展遲遲未加以宣導，甚為可惜，因此未來竹縣府將加強海天一色的濱海休憩區發展。
 縣府表示，新豐坡頭漁港去年進行曳船道和浮動碼頭改善、港區照明、路面及排水、綠美化工程，去年底完工啟用，將漁港分為休閒景觀區、海景步道、主題市集廣場、漁獲批發區以及停車場空間，提高港區空間利用，未來則逐步加強硬體設施，興建多功能漁業文化展示休閒館、觀光魚市場等。
 楊文科指出，坡頭漁港轉型只是竹縣濱海區域整體發展的序曲，已指示交通旅遊處彙整新竹縣海岸線有關漁業文化、景觀、觀光漁市、餐飲、賞鳥或出海垂釣等相關計畫，納入四月卅日即將公告實施的新竹縣國土計畫，作為未來發展濱海區的指導方針。

taiwan-subdivisions: 新竹縣 竹北 新竹 成功 新豐


taiwan-subdivisions: 新竹縣 新店 湖口 新店區 新竹 新北市

content_text:
記者黃誌寬／新竹報導
 三環六線是新北市重點政策，當中的第二線-安坑輕軌，由民眾公開票選出「光耀金」的外觀塗裝，按照規劃設計進度，安坑輕軌首列車已經在新竹縣湖口鄉台灣車輛公司工廠內組裝完成，16日下午由新北市長侯友宜及新竹縣長楊文科共同揭幕，首度公開亮相。
 新北市長侯友宜表示，安坑輕軌列車的主要軟硬體設計，和已經通車營運的淡海輕軌一樣，在國車國造的目標基礎上，更加優化升級。包括安坑輕軌車廂座椅，全面採用高強度防火塑料，並且藉由適度的車頂包覆及完善的排水規劃，改善先前淡海輕軌營運發生的狀況，同時安坑輕軌國產化比例，也高於淡海輕軌的22%，達到約42%。首列車亮相後，後續還要通過相關檢查與測試作業，作為接續組裝生產的安坑輕軌列車參考依據，也象徵安坑輕軌進度，將再往前邁進一步。
 侯友宜市長也視察安坑輕軌列車的生產線，組裝過程從鋼體、膠合到配線，分成三大階段，列車車頭用國產輕量化板材，取代厚重的金屬板，但又不失強度考量。一列車五節車廂共有62個座位，可搭載265名旅客，全車100%低地板，以便於乘客上下車，車內採用大型側窗玻璃，讓旅客搭乘時能飽覽沿途風景。
 安坑輕軌全線配置15列車，目前首輛列車在台灣車輛公司組裝完成後，將展開各項完成檢查與功能測試作業，並且作為後續列車生產的重要參考依據，預計110年可運抵新店安坑機廠交付。
 新北捷運局長李政安表示，路線全長7.5公里的安坑輕軌，全線設置9座車站，並與即將通車的環狀線十四張站相連，沿途經過新店區安一路、安捷路及安和路，串聯許多人文特色景點，未來通車後規劃尖峰時段每5到10分鐘就有一班車，將成為新店安坑地區的交通新選擇，預估從安坑到台北市通勤時間可縮短15到20分鐘。截至2月底，安坑輕軌土建進度已達38.39%，預計111年底通車。

title: 安坑輕軌首列車新竹縣台車公司亮相


title: 武漢肺炎》高雄地檢署開會 桌距逾1米限1人坐避免感染

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2020-03-17 00:23:51

〔記者黃良傑／高雄報導〕高雄地檢署因應武漢肺炎疫情，規劃成立「疫情應變專組」，由襄閱主任檢察官曾靖雅擔任召集人，會議桌位必須距離超過1公尺，避免飛沫傳染；偵查庭也防疫，採保鮮膜包覆金屬框架，訊後扔棄，一次性使用降減感染風險。

檢方透露，上周曾有從日本押返台的詐欺車手，偵訊、羈押庭都採高規格防疫措施，待裁定羈押後，該車手出現咳嗽症狀，幸好採檢呈陰性反應，不過，有防疫措施，相關人員也比較安心。

雄檢因應武漠肺炎疫情，除了設立防疫偵查庭，收問從疫區返台的犯罪嫌疑人，上月26日也成立「疫情應變專組」，規劃應變緊急或擴大的疫情，確保人力調配正常，以及有工作人員隔離時，未來內部如何平順運作，以及如何運用視訊模式。

雄檢規劃的「疫情應變專組」召集人為襄閱主任檢察官曾靖雅，主任檢察官朱婉綺負責疫期案件窗口與平台，並以通風良好的6樓大禮堂為辦公室，開會的成員和行政科室主管，每桌1人且桌距逾1公尺，避免飛沫和交叉傳染風險。

此外，要求進出雄檢人員配戴口罩、測量體溫，若有疫區居住旅遊史、接觸史，都嚴格篩檢、管控，一旦發現冇發燒或急性呼吸道症狀的洽公者，另規劃獨立的進出動線，同時也建置防疫偵查庭、遠距視訊開庭等設備，防疫零破口的前提，讓防疫期間，維持地檢署員額的三分之二人力運作。

相關新聞請見︰武漢肺炎懶人包》傳染途徑、預防措施看這裡
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title: 影〉李蘭娟：群體免疫說法對人民極不負責任

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大陸國家衛健委高級別專家組成員、中國工程院院士李蘭娟表示，有些國家提出所謂「「群體免疫」的觀點，這是對老百姓極不負責任的做法。大陸疫情已經趨緩，如果到3月20日前後，武漢新增病例如果歸零，再過2周後，就可以恢復正常生活與生產秩序。

在大陸極負盛名的傳染病學家李蘭娟接受《中新網》訪問時表示，一些國家面對新冠肺炎疫情提出的「群體免疫」觀點，是對老百姓不負責任的做法。中國大陸抗擊新冠肺炎疫情的經驗和教訓，值得其他國家學習和借鑒。

對於武漢疫情何時能結束，李蘭娟表示，到3月20日前後，武漢新發感染病例若為零，再觀察大約兩周後，可以恢復到正常的生產生活秩序中。

英國首相強生曾公開表示，如果有6至7成的民眾染病，就能有大量的民眾獲得抗體並因而形成「群體免疫」現象。不過這種說法被批評為英國政府打算放任民眾染病的政策，遭到普遍的批評。

countries: 中國 英國


title: 外媒：中國兩會 擬延至4月底5月初召開

content_text:
路透社報導，在中國本土武漢肺炎疫情看似趨緩、海外疫情仍快速擴散下，中國擬將先前延期的全國「兩會」（全國人大、全國政協），選在 4 月底或 5 月初召開。

根據報導，這項消息來自 2 名參與全國「兩會」準備工作的人士。然而，中國國務院及全國人大常委會面對查證，並未給予回覆。

依多年來慣例，中國全國「兩會」都在 3 月 3 日登場。若未逢政府換屆，會期前後通常為 12 至 14 天，至 3 月中結束，並依例舉行總理記者會。

報導指出，中國若按上述規劃舉辦全國「兩會」，代表中共高層認為武漢肺炎疫情的「事態已經回歸正軌」。

但上述消息來源坦承， 4 月底或 5 月初這個時間點並非官方最終定案，且會議出席人數可能有所縮減。原因是，從外省進入北京市的人員都須先接受 2 週的隔離觀察。

消息來源強調：「我們還是得聽候指令，因為（武漢肺炎）冠狀病毒仍在全球傳播」。

外界先前預測，今年的全國「兩會」將著重討論持續數月的香港抗爭議題，以及中國接連承受重大衝擊的經濟問題，包括近 30 年來最嚴重的產能衰退等。

（新聞資料來源 : 中央社）

events: 冠狀病毒 武漢肺炎


title: 疫情重擊全球航空業 專家：多數業者恐5月底倒閉

content_text:
武漢肺炎疫情迅速擴散，各國加強管制邊境，導致全球航空公司紛紛擴大縮減航班和裁員，並尋求政府援助。專家警告，若不採取聯合行動，全球多數航空業者將撐不過 5 月。

擁有英國航空公司（British Airways）、伊比利亞航空公司（Iberia Airlines）和愛爾蘭航空公司（Aer Lingus）的國際航空集團（International Airlines Group）今天宣布， 4 月和 5 月的運量將至少縮減 3 / 4 ，部分航班也將暫時停飛。集團還將凍結非必要支出，並減少工時和暫停雇約。

美國 3 大航空公司之一的聯合航空公司（United Airlines）已預估，本月營收將比去年同期減少 15 億美元（約新台幣 453 億元），因此 4 月和 5 月的運量將砍半，高層主管也將減薪 50 %。

聯合航空並警告員工，即使大幅削減航班後，班機幾乎空無一人的情況仍可能持續到夏天，屆時預料仍會大幅縮減運量。

法荷航空集團（Air France-KLM Group）今天表示，受到疫情衝擊，未來幾天將逐步減少航班，可售座位公里數（Available Seat Kilometer）可能大砍 70 % 至 90 %。

法荷航空集團還說，旗下法國航空的空中巴士（Airbus） 380 型客機機隊將因此全面暫時停飛，旗下荷蘭航空的波音（Boeing） 747 型客機機隊也暫時全面停飛。

英國維珍航空公司（Virgin Atlantic）今天宣布，受武漢肺炎疫情影響，將停飛 75 %的航班至 26 日， 4 月則將停飛最多 85 % 的航班，此外將要求員工未來 3 個月內放 8 週的無薪假。

歐洲第 4 大航空公司廉航易捷航空（EasyJet）也表示，旗下機隊恐大多數停飛。德國航運業巨擘途易集團（Tui AG）和北歐航空公司（SAS）都表示將暫停絕大多數業務，並向政府求援。

澳洲航空公司（Qantas Airways）上週已宣布將國際航線運量縮減 25 %，如今又說，由於多國祭出新的旅遊限制，可能將航班進一步刪減。

航空業智庫「亞太航空中心」（CAPA Centre for Aviation）警告，若政府和業界不採取聯合行動，全球多數航空公司會在 5 月底破產。

亞太航空中心在報告中指出：「（航空業）需求目前萎縮方式簡直前所未見，且還看不到何時能恢復常態。」

（新聞資料來源 : 中央社）

countries: 德國 美國 荷蘭 英國 法國 愛爾蘭 澳洲


countries: 摩洛哥 台灣

title: 摩洛哥暫停國際航班 124名台客滯留

content_text:
觀光局今天晚上通報，武漢肺炎（COVID- 19 ）影響，摩洛哥政府宣布暫停國際航班，台灣有 8 個旅行團返台班機遭取消， 124 名旅客滯留當地，觀光局已與外交部建立聯繫窗口。

觀光局說，目前在摩洛哥的旅行團，原本行程是預計 23 日前陸續返台，但現在返台時間將延。觀光局統計， 124 名在摩洛哥的旅客，分別由百合、加利利、晴天國際、巨大、雄獅、上選旅行社出團。

觀光局說，已與外交部建立聯繫窗口，並提供相關旅行團體聯絡資訊，另要求旅行業者務必密切關注當地航班出入境的資訊及旅行團返台班機安排情形，注意旅客安全維護，妥善照料食宿事宜，如有緊急事件或需協助事項，應盡速聯繫觀光局及外交部。

觀光局提醒，因疫情關係，目前世界各國管制禁令及防疫措施不一，已請各旅行社務必注意各國旅遊禁令及航班資訊，隨時掌握班機狀況，確保旅行團體的安全及行程順利，也呼籲國人避免至疫情等級三級警告的國家非必要旅遊。

（新聞資料來源 : 中央社）


title: 泰國武漢肺炎單日新增33起創新高 累計147例

content_text:
泰國今天宣布新增 33 起武漢肺炎確診病例，是單日增加最多，累計達 147 例。泰國總理帕拉育晚間透過電視演說向民眾信心喊話，希望大家同心度過這次危機。

泰國公共衛生部今天宣布新增 33 起 2019 冠狀病毒疾病（COVID- 19 ，武漢肺炎）病例，主要分為兩組人，第一組 16 人密切接觸了曾經參加派對以及到訪過泰拳館而染病的確診者，這間泰拳館已因有確診案例關閉。

第二組 17 人為從國外返泰的旅客，或是工作上和外國人密切接觸。

截至今天為止，泰國累計 147 起確診案例， 1 人身亡， 108 人住院治療， 38 人康復出院。

今天下午，泰國武里喃府（Buri Ram）宣布嚴格進出管制措施，所有要進入武里喃府的人不管是外國人或是泰國人，都要先經過嚴格的健康檢測，若有發燒等症狀就直接送醫，進入武里喃府要自我隔離 14 天，超過 50 人的大型集會未來 1 個月都被禁止。

武里喃府是泰國第一個自行宣布相關措施的府，民眾都在關注其他府是否會跟進。

帕拉育（Prayut Chan-o-cha）晚間則透過全國性的電視演說向泰國人信心喊話，表示「泰國一定贏」，泰國的醫療資源充足，希望民眾一起配合防疫工作，度過這次危機。

帕拉育指出，為了將傷害降到最低，政府必須採取一些嚴格的措施，例如禁止大型集會、關閉高風險的場所如運動場館，並對進入泰國的旅客採取嚴格的管控措施。

（新聞資料來源 : 中央社）

events: 武漢肺炎 冠狀病毒


title: 為何推口罩實名制2.0 陳其邁解說流行病學理論

content_text:
行政院副院長陳其邁今天在臉書貼文解釋，目前年輕人口罩覆蓋率低只有 40 %，若能進一步將覆蓋率達到 50 %，甚至 70 % 以上，R₀ 基本傳染數將會小於 1 ，就能有效控制住疫情，因此推出口罩實名制 2.0 。

口罩實名制 2.0 線上預購第一波即將截止，陳其邁在臉書發文表示，流行病學中，有個常用來判斷傳染病傳染力的重要指標「R₀ 基本傳染數」（Basic Reproduction Number），R₀ 指數就是指一個確診感染病患者會傳染給其他人數的平均值。

陳其邁說明，根據研究，流感的 R₀ 數值約為 1.8 到 1.9 ，嚴重急性呼吸道症候群（SARS）的 R₀ 指數約為 2 到 3 之間，目前武漢肺炎（COVID- 19 ）的R₀指數約為 3 到 4 ，表示一個確診病患平均會傳染給 4 個人，只要傳遞 9 次，確診人數就會來到 26 萬人，將造成非常可怕的後果，某種程度也解釋了為何武漢肺炎接連在東亞、中東及歐洲國家造成這麼大的疫情。

他說，若 R₀ 指數大於 1 時，表示被傳染者仍會持續增加，站在公共衛生的角度，就是將傳染病的 R₀ 指數降至 1 以下。要降低 R₀ 指數取決於「找出確診」、「追蹤及檢疫」及「社會距離及個人衛生」等三大指標 。

他表示，在「找出確診」方面，除了疫區入境檢疫外，指揮中心也針對國內高風險族群主動進行篩檢，並也授權醫師可主動通報，預計可將 R₀ 指數降低一半以上。

「追蹤及檢疫」方面，目前透過大數據及科技工具，已經能夠有效落實居家隔離、檢疫，將可再減少 1 / 4 。

在「社會距離及個人衛生」方面，日前指揮中心也針對大型集會活動發布相關指引規範。所以若能進一步將「口罩覆蓋率」達到 50 %，甚至 70 % 以上，R₀ 指數將會小於 1 ，能有效控制住疫情。

陳其邁說，為提升口罩覆蓋率， 2 月 6 日推出口罩實名制購買政策。評估當時國內口罩產量，先以覆蓋 500 萬人口為目標，每人為 2 片；後來「再加量」，以覆蓋 1000 萬人口為目標。

經過幾週的數據調查，老年人、兒童覆蓋比例最高，均達 60 %以上，而年輕人覆蓋比例最低，僅 40 %左右。

陳其邁指出，就武漢肺炎治療經驗來說，年輕人若確診武漢肺炎，臨床上以輕症表現居多，但若回到家裡可能傳染給風險較高的長輩族群。且考慮到青年因為就學、就業因素，購買不易，因此推出口罩實名制 2.0 ，增加透過網路預購途徑，方便年輕人購買口罩，提高整體族群口罩覆蓋率。

他表示，武漢肺炎輕症感染居多，且其 R₀ 指數高於 SARS，口罩的覆蓋率更顯重要。口罩實名制 2.0 自 12 日網路預購開跑至今，已超過 120 萬人透過網路預購，讓防疫能夠更落實，這就是行政院團隊推出口罩實名制政策的思考策略。

（新聞資料來源 : 中央社）

things: 防疫 大數據


countries: 歐盟 美國

title: IMF總裁籲增加財政刺激措施 歐盟今年恐陷衰退

content_text:
國際貨幣基金總裁喬治艾娃今天呼籲各國政府採取額外財政刺激措施，並保持緊密聯繫，以防武漢肺炎引發長期經濟損失。歐洲聯盟官員也說，疫情將使歐盟今年步入衰退。

路透社報導，喬治艾娃（Kristalina Georgieva）在國際貨幣基金（IMF）網站上發布部落格訊息。她表示，又有大約 20 個國家對IMF的融資計畫表達興趣，IMF未來幾天會跟這些國家採取後續行動。

喬治艾娃表示，IMF已準備好動用 1 兆美元的貸款能力，來援助旗下 189 個成員國。

喬治艾娃並指出，可能有必要採取跟 2008 、 2009 年金融危機同等規模的同步財政行動。她說，光是在 2009 年， 20 國集團（G 20 ）各國就把大約 2 % 的國內生產毛額（GDP）投入刺激措施，換算成今日幣值，相當於 9000 億美元左右，「所以現在還有很多工作得做」。

貨幣政策方面，喬治艾娃說，各國央行「應該繼續透過放寬金融條件、確保信貸流向實體經濟，來支撐需求、提振信心」。她並舉美國聯邦準備理事會（Fed）昨天採取的緊急行動為例。

喬治艾娃讚許大國央行之間開始換匯額度協議，並表示未來這類換匯協議可能得擴展至新興市場國家。

另一方面，歐洲聯盟（EU）內部市場事務執委布勒東（Thierry Breton）今天表示，由於武漢肺炎（ 2019 冠狀病毒疾病, COVID- 19 ）引發公衛危機，衝擊歐盟經濟，歐盟今年將經歷衰退。

布勒東在 BFM 商業電台（BFM Business）表示：「顯然我們預期 2020 這一年會出現衰退。這場危機發生前，我們預期整個歐陸會成長大約 1.4 %，現在我們預期負面衝擊會達到 2 % 至 2.5 %。」

（新聞資料來源 : 中央社）


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菲律賓目前確診 142 例武漢肺炎病例， 12 人身亡。總統杜特蒂宣布，菲國北部呂宋島將實施「強化社區隔離」至 4 月 12 日，要求企業暫停營業，民眾避免出門，以遏止疫情蔓延。

另外，由於菲國參議院公聽會出席人員確診武漢肺炎，截至 12 日，至少 10 名參議員展開自主隔離，其中一名參議員、參議院多數黨領袖朱比瑞（Juan Miguel Zubiri）今晚發布聲明表示，他確診武漢肺炎。

杜特蒂（Rodrigo Duterte）今晚針對菲律賓 2019 年冠狀病毒疾病（COVID- 19 ，俗稱武漢肺炎）疫情發表談話。他表示，即將在呂宋島實施的社區隔離「不是戒嚴」。

菲律賓包括呂宋島、中部的維薩亞斯群島（Visayas）和南部的民答那峨島三大島群，菲國首都馬尼拉市和大馬尼拉地區位於呂宋島。

杜特蒂要求民眾除了基本民生需要外，應待在家裡，避免出門，提供基本民生需求的店家和機構可以營運，但其他企業應暫停營業。

他也呼籲叛軍在這段期間暫時停火。

菲國總統發言人帕內洛（Salvador Panelo）稍早告訴ABS-CBN電視台，強化社區隔離（enhanced community quarantine）等同於「全面封城」。

杜特蒂於 9 日公布行政命令，宣布菲律賓進入公共衛生緊急狀態，並於 12 日晚上宣布，為防止疫情擴散， 15 日起將在大馬尼拉地區實施一個月的社區隔離。

今天是大馬尼拉實施社區隔離後首個上班日，但由於住在外省民眾仍可進入大馬尼拉地區上班，出現不少交通和通勤亂象，菲國民眾質疑當局要求的「社交距離」（social distancing）無法落實，菲國官員因此建議杜特蒂實施更嚴格的隔離措施。

截至今天，在大馬尼拉地區，包括奎松市（Quezon）、馬尼拉市、聖胡安市（San Juan）、馬卡蒂市（Makati）、曼達路永市（Mandaluyong）、巴賽市（Pasay）等 11 個城市宣布進入「災難狀態」。

在災難狀態下，當局可以運用當地的快速應變或災難基金，緊急採購物資防堵武漢肺炎疫情。

（新聞資料來源 : 中央社）

title: 杜特蒂：呂宋島強化社區隔離至4月12日


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「金融時報」報導，歐美國家紛紛開始動員防疫，而多年前有 SARS 防疫經驗，在這次武漢肺炎疫情中成效傲人的台灣，有許多做法值得借鏡。

報導指出，截至 15 日， 2019 冠狀病毒疾病（COVID- 19 ，武漢肺炎）在台灣僅造成 59 人感染， 1 人身亡。台灣有效阻止這場癱瘓中國的疫情在台灣大爆發，目前除了大多數人搭乘大眾交通運輸時戴口罩外，台灣一切生活如常。

相較於歐洲和美國的恐慌氣氛，台灣的氣氛也大不同。對於西方國家而言，這場傳染病無預警燒到家門口，但對台灣而言，一切早從 2003 年的嚴重急性呼吸道症候群（SARS）開始。

金融時報採訪抗 SARS 專家、前衛生署疾病管制局長蘇益仁。他表示：「其他國家現在的狀況，如同我們在 2003 年碰到 SARS 的前幾個星期。還沒準備好、沒有經驗。」

不過，對於忙著應變疫情的西方政府而言有一個好消息，那就是台灣和其他亞洲國家在過去 3 個月的應變措施，已經有效減緩疫情。

實施早期旅遊禁令、強制檢測並過濾接觸人口，以及嚴格的隔離策略都是關鍵。普遍的健康保險、清楚的公衛體制管理結構，以及主動對大眾告知相關訊息，同樣助益良多。這些策略讓台灣和新加坡有效控制病毒傳播，並減緩韓國、香港與日本的疫情傳播速度。

報導指出，當世界衛生組織（WHO）喊著要其他國家學習中國，稱讚中國「或許做了史上最勇敢、最靈活、最積極的防控措施」時，部分衛生專家認為，台灣和韓國等亞洲民主政體或許才是西方國家控制疫情的最好學習對象，畢竟西方與中國政體有本質上的差異。

蘇益仁表示：「我們應變成功的最重要因素之一就是透明。在（中國的）專制體制下，每個人都被要求待在家裡，這在自由民主國家不容易達成。」

不過，西方國家仍有一個模仿不來的重點，那就是這些亞洲國家的經驗大多來自於對抗SARS的慘痛回憶，這讓他們準備更充分、應變更迅速強勢，民眾也更願意配合。

SARS 當年在台灣造成 73 人喪生。蘇益仁在 SARS 後赴美國進修，於 2004 年回到台灣，著手參與組織改造。疾病管制署增加人力，各大醫院有超過 1000 個負壓隔離病房，以及可以進行檢疫的實驗室。

蘇益仁表示，之前只有疾管署有能力檢測，在疫情爆發時處理不及。隨後在醫學中心設立合約實驗室，讓台灣的檢疫能量達到每天 2400 件，只要增加人力，還可以突破這個數字。

不過最大的影響還是在於政界。經歷 SARS 時中央與地方政府溝通失當後，台灣設置獨立於疾管署的中央流行疫情指揮中心。醫學專家與政府官員表示，這項制度讓疫情指揮能夠超越政治，快速應變。台灣也透過立法，得以在疫情爆發時限縮民眾自由，並對違反隔離規定者開罰。

這一切又在 2009 年 H 1 N 1 新型流感疫情爆發時受到檢驗。蘇益仁表示：「那次讓我們進行檢視，做出很多修正。」

而這次疫情則是讓台灣的體制全面接受測試，目前為止似乎通過了考驗。儘管兩岸交流頻繁，有超過 100 萬台灣人在中國工作或居住，去年也有超過 270 萬中客訪台，但台灣的確診人數目前在全球排名第 50 。

（新聞資料來源 : 中央社）

title: 台灣發揮抗煞經驗防疫有成 金融時報籲西方借鏡

countries: 台灣 新加坡 香港 中國 日本 韓國 美國

taiwan-subdivisions: 和美 成功


taiwan-subdivisions: 新北 新北市 中和區

countries: 台灣 西班牙 葡萄牙

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武漢肺炎疫情嚴峻，新北市有里長率團遊歐洲，預計明晚回台，依規定可領新台幣 1.4 萬元居家檢疫補助；中和區公所認為已成防疫負面示範，更擔心成防疫破口。

新北市民政局表示，中和區瓦磘里里長林綺芳去年 12 月間就開始組團，接受里民報名，當時歐洲疫情仍不嚴重，他們 3 月 10 日出遊西班牙、葡萄牙時，還只是 2 級旅遊警示。

民政局表示，經了解，當初團員疑因捨不得取消出遊的團費損失，才會執意出團，但由於出遊地點 3 月 14 日升級為 3 級警示區，依規定返台居家檢疫 14 天，還能領取 1 萬 4000 元的補助。

民政局表示，里長不是公務人員，出國不用向市府請假，因此，市府對里長率團遊歐一事不知情，事後查證，全市各里長都沒有組團出遊的計畫。

中和區公所表示，雖聯繫不到仍在國外的里長本人，但透過家屬確認全團已提前返台，預計明天晚上飛抵台灣；市府超前部署認真防疫，但此事已成防疫的負面示範，若再有團員染疫返台，將重創市府形象。

公所表示，已連夜查證團員名單並報請相關單位落實採檢，也會嚴格執行 14 天的居家檢疫，以及指示里幹事代理里長職務，以期里政及基層防疫工作推動不中斷，至於團員是否會領取居家檢疫補助屬個人權益問題，區公所不過問。

（新聞資料來源 : 中央社）

title: 新北里長帶團遊歐還可領補助  公所憂成防疫破口


countries: 義大利 法國

title: 義大利疫情燒不停 總理孔蒂：將進入最危險幾週

content_text:
義大利總理孔蒂（Giuseppe Conte）今天警告，義大利將進入「最危險的幾週」，並敦促歐洲各國就武漢肺炎疫情因應措施進行協調。

法新社報導，孔蒂在七大工業國集團（G 7 ）領袖召開視訊會議前，接受義大利「晚郵報」（Corriere Della Sera）訪問。他說：「歐洲各國有必要就衛生和經濟措施進行協調。」

孔蒂說：「該是勇敢做出抉擇的時候了，義大利可以做出重大貢獻，因為義大利是第一個經歷疫情如此大範圍擴散情況的歐洲國家。」

另外，法國衛生部公衛署長沙羅孟（Jerome Salomon）今天說，法國 2019 冠狀病毒疾病（COVID- 19 ，武漢肺炎）疫情「很令人擔憂」，且「情況非常迅速惡化」。

沙羅孟接受法國公共電台（France Inter Radio）訪問時說：「每 3 天法國病例就會呈倍數成長，我希望法國人民意識到，有人生病了，這些人正在加護病房接受治療，且（重症病例數）達數百人。」

歐元集團（Eurogroup）主席沈德諾（Mario Centeno）今天也警告，因受武漢肺炎疫情衝擊，歐洲經濟有如經歷一場戰爭，且未來還有漫長的仗要打。

（新聞資料來源 : 中央社）


title: Quake alerts to be sent to telecoms in 10 seconds

content_text:
Starting on April 6, earthquake alerts issued by the Central Weather Bureau would be transmitted to telecoms within 10 seconds, the bureau said in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee yesterday.

It currently takes an average of 15 seconds for telecoms to receive the alerts that the bureau issues when it detects an earthquake with a magnitude of at least 4.5 on land or off the coast, the bureau said.

The new alert system would shorten the transmission time to 10 seconds, the bureau said, adding that it still takes another three seconds for mobile phone users to receive the alert message.

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lee Kun-tse (李昆澤) said that the earthquake alert system in Japan can transmit messages faster than the one in Taiwan, as the messages go through only two stops along the transmission route instead of six, before reaching mobile phone users.

Taiwan’s alert system would run faster if it had fewer stops along the transmission route, but the false alarm rate would inevitably be higher, to which the public might have trouble adjusting, Central Weather Bureau Director-General Yeh Tien-chiang (葉天降) said.

The bureau is studying reducing the transmission time using the same number of stops, he said.

Japan’s earthquake alert system can send the first alert message within about six seconds of detecting a quake, but people there know that they would not receive the most accurate information on the earthquake’s magnitude and intensity until the sixth or seventh alert message, which would also take about 10 seconds, the bureau said.

While it would take 10 seconds for Taiwan’s alert system to transmit the first alert message when it detects a large earthquake, the information in the message would be about 99 percent accurate, the bureau said, adding that Taiwanese might not find it acceptable to receive the full information in multiple messages.

Asked if the transmission time between the telecoms and mobile phone users could be shortened to under three seconds given that telecoms would soon launch 5G services, National Communications Commission Chief Secretary Hsiao Chi-hung (蕭祈宏) said that 4G and 5G systems would coexist in the initial stages of 5G service, and the transmission speed might not be faster than it is now.

It also takes Japanese telecoms about three seconds to transmit messages to their subscribers, Hsiao said.

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title: Housing prices expected to fall: Evertrust survey

content_text:
Many Taiwanese expect housing prices to fall amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with the correction likely to persist through the third quarter, a survey by Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房屋) released yesterday showed.

Sixty-three percent of respondents said that housing prices would decline in the next six months, weighed by the coronavirus outbreak, which has sickened more than 170,000 people and killed at least 6,600 worldwide.

The weakening sentiment is not surprising, as international research bodies have trimmed forecasts for the global economy and central banks have cut interest rates to support growth, Evertrust Rehouse spokesman Jay Hsieh (謝志傑) said in a statement.

It is the first time the nation’s largest broker by number of offices released its quarterly survey via e-mail rather than disclosing it at a news conference, which was done to support social distancing.

Nearly 50 percent expect the correction to range between 5 and 10 percent, while 14 percent expect a more drastic decline, the survey said.

Only 4 percent said housing prices would pick up, while 33 percent expected prices to be flat.

“The local property market would deteriorate further if global authorities fail to contain the disease in a timely fashion,” Hsieh said, adding that being small and open, Taiwan is susceptible to external shocks.

However, a steep price correction is unlikely in Taiwan, where the number of infections is relatively low at 67 as of yesterday, Hsieh said.

The sentiment is weakest in Taipei, Taichung and Hsinchu as residents in those areas are more sensitive to market volatility, Evertrust said.

Sellers would have to demonstrate greater pricing flexibility, Hsieh said.

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content_text:
The government is planning a special loan for the nation’s six airlines as their businesses have been severely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Huang Yu-ling (黃玉霖) said yesterday.

Details of the bailout are to be decided at an Executive Yuan meeting tomorrow, he said on the sidelines of a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Transportation Committee.

The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announcement on Saturday that he had raised the travel advisory for 27 European nations and Dubai to a level 3 “warning,” effective today, is expected to worsen the plight of airlines already hurt by massive numbers of flight cancellations and ticket refunds caused by the outbreak.

A man walks through a deserted check-in area at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on March 3.
 Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times

Previously, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) had budgeted a total of NT$4.863 billion (US$160.92 million) to subsidize the airlines, as well as several items for the nation’ airports, including aircraft landing fees, land lease fees, airport facility usage fees and royalties, as well as the purchase of disease-prevention materials.

Asked if the bailout would be capped at NT$30 billion, as some local media have reported, Huang said that the airlines are still calculating the exact amounts they need to weather the crisis.

Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) supports the ministry’s proposal, Huang added.

“The airlines have experienced a massive reduction in revenue in the past few months due to the COVID-19 outbreak, which has led them to have low cash flow as well. The special loan program would fund paychecks for their employees and help them get though this difficult time,” he said.

So far, the nation has managed to keep about 20 percent of its airlines’ transport capacity to China, while more than 50 percent of their international flights have been canceled, ministry statistics showed.

The Center for Aviation, a market intelligence agency for the aviation and travel industry, yesterday forecast that most of the world’s airlines would be bankrupt by the end of May, unless coordinated government and industry action is taken now.

“As the impact of the coronavirus and multiple government travel reactions sweep through our world, many airlines have probably already been driven into technical bankruptcy, or are at least substantially in breach of debt covenants,” the center said. “Cash reserves are running low quickly as fleets are grounded, and what flights there are operate at much less than half full.”

“Forward bookings are far outweighed by cancelations and each time there is a new government recommendation it is to discourage flying. Demand is drying up in ways that are completely unprecedented,” it said. “Normality is not yet on the horizon.”

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title: Virus Outbreak: MOTC working on bailout for airlines


content_text:
Virus Outbreak: EU warns against border closures as way to curb virus

EU nations must take care not to damage food and medicine supply lines as they slap on border restrictions in the drive to curb the spread of coronavirus, the EU’s executive arm said yesterday.

From Portugal in the west to economic powerhouse Germany to Hungary in the east, EU countries have tightened frontier controls across the normally open-border Schengen zone, which includes most member states as well as non-members Switzerland and Norway.

“The coronavirus crisis has highlighted the challenge of protecting the health of the population whilst avoiding disruptions to the free movement of persons, and the delivery of goods and essential services across Europe,” the European Commission said in a note to the 27-member states.

Two travelers, who had to end their journey by train in the Austrian town of Kufstein, yesterday walk with their luggage over the main road after crossing the border to Kiefersfelden, Germany, which introduced border controls with Austria, Denmark, France, Luxembourg and Switzerland in a bid to stem the COVID-19 outbreak.
 Photo: AP / DPA

“The implementation of ... checks of persons and goods should be governed by the principle of solidarity between member states,” said the new border management guidelines, which the commission circulated to national capitals yesterday.

Member states’ ambassadors to Brussels were to discuss the matter when they meet in person at 6pm yesterday. Most other policy discussions in the EU are now conducted by videoconference, including a call between European leaders scheduled for today on the health and ensuing economic crises.

With the official death toll in Italy now at nearly 1,300 and at about 300 in Spain, the commission’s calls for unity and solidarity have been falling largely on deaf ears as each nation tries to fend for itself, and reports spread of cars and trucks getting stuck at what are normally invisible borders.

The commission said suspending freedom of movement for people, goods and services — fundamental principles of the EU Single Market — risked exacerbating panic buying and aggravating the economic impact of the coronavirus.

In other news, China is relaxing travel restrictions in the hardest-hit province of Hubei, sending thousands of workers back to jobs at factories desperate to get production going again.

Xinhua news agency yesterday reported that cities just outside the epicenter of Wuhan were chartering buses to send back to work residents who had returned home for the Lunar New Year in late January.

The move comes as Chinese officials say the outbreak that spread from Wuhan starting in December has mostly run its course domestically, while they remain vigilant against imported cases.

Additional reporting by AP

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title: Ko weighs in on alleged affair in letter

content_text:
By Shen Pei-yao and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), chairman of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), yesterday in a letter to TPP members shared his thoughts following an alleged extramarital affair involving two party members.

The party on Wednesday expelled Taipei Culture Foundation deputy chief executive Chang Yi-san (張益贍), who was allegedly having an extramarital affair with TPP caucus assistant Tsai Yi-fang (蔡宜芳).

The party in a statement said that Chang was expelled because it had evidence of him discussing “negative campaign strategies” with a representative of another political party “without the authorization of the TPP.”

A copy of a letter written to Taiwan People’s Party members by Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, who is chairman of the party, is pictured yesterday.
 Photo courtesy of Taiwan People’s Party

Chang in a separate statement said that he would resign his post at the foundation after a magazine published photographs of him being intimate with Tsai during office hours.

“I told the media that I was shocked when I first heard the news and the shock slowly turned into anger. However, two days later, when I thought about it more calmly, I felt ashamed for the most part,” Ko said in the letter, which the party said was sent only to its members and not published on social media.

Chang was competent at his foundation post, which requires skills in public relations, coordination and keeping up with the latest trends in society, Ko said.

As the public questioned the foundation’s attendance management and use of funds, Ko said that he has demanded that the Taipei Department of Cultural Affairs, which oversees the foundation, submit a review report, adding that he would in two weeks explain how the foundation plans to address the matter.

The party would also lay out clearer rules to regulate personal conduct in the public and private domains, Ko said.

Noting that many party members think that Tsai, who was stripped of party membership rights for one year, received a light punishment, Ko said that the TPP needs to shoulder part of the responsibility, as younger members know less about the boundaries for politicians.

“My aides have been constantly reminding me over the past year that I am losing fans, with some of them even becoming my haters. For that, I will reflect deeply on myself. I will continue to build better systems for the party and never stop changing Taiwan’s political culture,” Ko added.

Ko ended the letter with his pet phrase: “Fill your mind with virtuous intentions and do everything with all your strength.”

It is evident that some party members and fans are dissatisfied with the party’s handling of the incidents, so Ko hopes to boost morale and communicate more with them via the open letter, TPP spokesperson Ke Yu-an (柯昱安) said.

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content_text:
TOUGHER RULES:
 People who travel to places under warning notices risk having to pay for testing and treatment if they contract COVID-19, and having their names made public

The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday raised the travel notice for 42 countries and one area in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and northern Africa to a level 3 “warning,” and reported eight new imported cases of COVID-19.

Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), head of the center, said the global COVID-19 pandemic has changed drastically in the past few days, and the eight new cases — raising the nation’s total to 67 — were all people who had just returned to Taiwan.

Case No. 60 traveled on their own to Italy, Greece and Germany; No. 61 visited Austria and the Czech Republic with a tour group; No. 62 visited the Philippines with her family; No. 63 was part of the same tour to Egypt as the 55th case reported on Sunday; and No. 64 studied at the same Spanish school as the 58th case reported on Sunday, he said.

Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center, holds a map of worldwide COVID-19 infection locations yesterday during the center’s daily news conference.
 Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times

Cases No. 65 to 67 were on the same 15-person tour to Turkey as the 56th and 57th cases reported on Sunday, he added.

Although the Turkish government has said the nation has very few confirmed cases, that five members of the Taiwanese tour group tested positive after returning home has led the center to suspect that the outbreaks in some places are more serious than their number of reported cases would indicate, he said.

The new level 3 warning covers, in alphabetical order: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, Georgia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, North Macedonia, Oman, Pakistan, the Palestinian territories, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Yemen.

Travelers from these countries would be put under 14-day mandatory home quarantine upon arrival in Taiwan, the center said.

As the pandemic spreads, tightened border controls would be expanded to whole regions, and enhanced border controls on Asian countries would be announced today or tomorrow, Chen said.

He also warned Taiwanese who are still making travel plans.

“We sympathize with the Taiwanese who contracted the virus in other countries, but if people still insist on traveling to certain countries that we have advised them to avoid, we would have to take stricter measures,” he said.

People who travel unnecessarily to countries under a level 3 notice would not be eligible for the government’s home isolation or quarantine subsidy, and if they test positive for the virus, they would have to pay for testing and treatment, and their names would be published, he said.

People who provide false information on Health Declaration and Home Quarantine Notices would also be denied the subsidy and could be fined up to NT$150,000 (US$4,964), Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said.

People who breach home isolation or quarantine regulations, such as breaking contact with authorities, could be fined between NT$100,000 and NT$1 million under the Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法), and their names would be published, Chuang said.

Foreigners from countries under a level 1 or 2 travel notice who are not enrolled in the National Health Insurance system would have to pay for COVID-19 testing and treatment if they test positive, Chen said.

More details of the policy, such as the definition of unnecessary travel or the authority for publishing offenders’ names, would be announced this week, he said.

“A wave of cases imported from other countries is rapidly rising, totaling 44 so far, so we urge people to refrain from unnecessary overseas travel and to protect their health,” Chen said.

“We held firm to block the first wave of infection, but a new wave is coming, so everyone should cooperate with disease prevention efforts,” he added.

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title: Virus Outbreak: Level 3 alert issued for more nations


title: Broadcasters watched for hostile interference: NCC

content_text:
‘FOREIGN FORCES’:
 Any broadcaster that is found to have contravened the Anti-infiltration Act would be turned over to prosecutors, the media regulator said

The government is closely monitoring whether the nation’s broadcast media are adhering to the principle of editorial independence, the National Communications Commission (NCC) said over the weekend. It said those that allow hostile foreign entities to interfere in their operations could face criminal punishment.

The broadcast media regulator made the announcement after the US Department of State last week unveiled its 2019 Human Rights Report, which expressed concerns over Beijing’s efforts to influence the media.

As an example, the report said that a Financial Times journalist was in July last year sued by Want Want China Times Group, which has substantial operations in China, after she exposed “coordination between Want Want media outlets in Taiwan and the PRC [People’s Republic of China] Taiwan Affairs Office [TAO] regarding the content of Want Want publications.”

The report covers a wide range of issues, the commission said, adding that it would closely watch whether Taiwan’s broadcast media are preserving their professionalism and editorial independence.

The law would be enforced should evidence be found that they have failed to do so, it said.

Commission specialist Chen Shu-ming (陳書銘) said that the NCC launched an investigation into CtiTV and China Television (CTV) which both belong to Want Want China Times Group, after the Financial Times reported that the TAO had been giving direct instructions to the editorial departments of both stations on how to cover cross-strait issues.

The management of both networks have dismissed the Financial Times report, he said.

“We have yet to find clear evidence for the allegation. However, if there is evidence pointing to intervention in both stations from foreign forces that could compromise national security, we would turn the case over to prosecutors,” he said.

The commission published monthly media watch reports last year, in which it evaluated the news coverage by all TV news stations, Chen said.

CtiTV and CTV have devoted more news time to covering Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), who was then the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, he said.

However, they have shown signs of improvement in the past few months by providing a more balanced coverage of politicians, he added.

Meanwhile, the commission said it has invited external experts to examine the financial statements of CtiTV and CTV after public information about the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong showed that they have received funding from China.

The results of the investigation would be discussed by NCC commissioners before they are made public, it said.

“The Legislative Yuan has passed the Anti-infiltration Act (反滲透法) to prevent hostile foreign forces from infiltrating and intervening in the nation’s internal affairs. If any broadcast media is thought to have contravened the act, we would turn the case over to the public prosecutors’ office and judicial officials. We would also determine whether it has contravened media regulations,” it said.

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content_text:
The US Federal Reserve and other central banks moved aggressively with sweeping emergency rate cuts and offers of cheap funds to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic that has jolted markets and paralyzed large parts of the world economy.

The coordinated response from the Fed to the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan (BOJ) came amid a meltdown in financial markets as investor anxiety deepened over the difficulty of tackling a pathogen that has left thousands dead and put many countries on virtual lockdowns.

The Fed moved first on Sunday, cutting its key rate to near zero and triggered emergency policy easings by central banks in New Zealand, Japan and South Korea.

“The virus is having a profound effect on people across the United States and around the world,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said at a news conference after cutting short-term rates to a target range of 0 percent to 0.2 percent, and announcing at least US$700 billion in US Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities purchases in the coming weeks.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand slashed rates to a record low as markets in Asia opened for trading this week, while Australia’s central bank pumped extra liquidity into a strained financial system and said it would announce more policy steps on Thursday.

Later, the BOJ too eased policy in an emergency meeting, ramping up purchases of exchange-traded funds and other risky assets to combat the widening economic fallout from the pandemic.

South Korea stepped in as well, with a 50 basis point rate cut in a rare inter-meeting review yesterday.

“I don’t think we have reached a limit on how deep we can cut interest rates,” BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said.

“If necessary, we can deepen negative rates further,” he added. “We can continue to pump ample liquidity into the market.”

The measures did little to calm market nerves, though, as Asian shares and US stock futures plummeted, underscoring the fears that the health crisis might prove much more damaging to the global economy than initially anticipated.

“Market reactions to each surprise monetary policy easing have been sell first and ask questions later,” said Selena Ling (林秀心), head of treasury research and strategy at OCBC Bank (華僑銀行) in Singapore.

“The more unprecedented measures by the Fed and other central banks, the more investors worry if [they] know something we don’t ... fear remains the crux of the problem here as market players remain unconvinced that monetary policy easing and liquidity injections will solve an essentially healthcare crisis,” she said.

Many analysts are predicting a marked downturn in the world economy.

“A global recession has moved from a risk case to a base case,” said Matt Sherwood, Sydney-based head of investment strategy at investment firm Perpetual Ltd.

“Financial conditions are tight and are likely to remain so until the coronavirus’ growth rate slows, and stimulus is enhanced. This may take considerable time as oil prices are implying high stress in credit markets,” he said.

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title: Virus Outbreak: Central banks take action to fight COVID-19


content_text:
Virus Outbreak: COVID-19 vaccine trial starts, says US government official

The first participant in a clinical trial for a vaccine to protect against COVID-19 was yesterday to receive an experimental dose, a US government official said.

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) is funding the trial, which is taking place at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle. The official who disclosed plans for the first participant spoke on condition of anonymity because the move has not been publicly announced.

Public health officials have said it would take 12 to 18 months to fully validate any potential vaccine.

Testing is to begin with 45 young, healthy volunteers with different doses of shots codeveloped by the institute and Moderna Inc. There is no chance participants could get infected from the shots, because they do not contain the virus itself. The goal is purely to check that the vaccines show no worrisome side effects, setting the stage for larger tests.

Dozens of research groups around the world are racing to create a vaccine as COVID-19 cases continue to grow. Importantly, they are pursuing different types of vaccines — shots developed from new technologies that not only are faster to produce than traditional inoculations, but might prove more potent.

Some researchers even aim for temporary vaccines, such as shots that might guard people’s health a month or two at a time while longer-lasting protection is developed.

Also working on a vaccine are Inovio Pharmaceuticals, which aims to begin safety tests next month in a few dozen volunteers at the University of Pennsylvania and a testing center in Kansas City, Missouri, followed by a similar study in China and South Korea.

Even if initial safety tests go well, “you’re talking about a year to a year and a half” before any vaccine could be ready for widespread use, said Anthony Fauci, director of the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

That still would be a record-setting pace, but manufacturers know the wait — required because it takes additional studies of thousands of people to tell if a vaccine truly protects and does no harm — is hard for a frightened public.

US President Donald Trump has been pushing for swift action on a vaccine, saying in recent days that the work is “moving along very quickly” and he hopes to see a vaccine “relatively soon.”

In China, scientists have been testing a combination of HIV drugs against the new coronavirus, as well as an experimental drug named remdesivir that was in development to fight Ebola.

In the US, the University of Nebraska Medical Center also began testing remdesivir in some Americans who were found to have the virus after being evacuated from a cruise ship in Japan.

The number of COVID-19 cases worldwide has surpassed 169,000 with 6,513 deaths, but among those, 77,000 have recovered from the illness.

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title: Japanese man sentenced to death for care home murders

content_text:
NO REMORSE:
 Satoshi Uematsu, who killed 19 disabled people, has reportedly said he wanted to eradicate all disabled people because they ‘only create unhappiness’

A Japanese man was yesterday sentenced to death for the stabbing murder of 19 disabled people at a care home, in one of the nation’s worst mass killings.

Satoshi Uematsu never disputed his involvement in the grisly rampage, but his lawyers entered a plea of not guilty, saying the 30-year-old was suffering a “mental disorder” linked to his use of marijuana.

The Yokohama District Court ruled that the former employee of the facility deserved no leniency over the 2016 attack, which shocked the nation.

Satoshi Uematsu is pictured inside a police car as he is taken to prosecutors in Sagamihara, Japan, on July 27, 2016.
 Photo: Reuters / Kyodo

“The lives of 19 people were taken away. This is profoundly grave,” chief judge Kiyoshi Aonuma told the court.

Uematsu planned the murders and had “an extreme intention to kill,” he added.

Prosecutors had sought the death penalty — which in Japan is carried out by hanging — and said the defendant was capable of taking responsibility for the violence at the Tsukui Yamayuri-en center in Sagamihara, a city just outside Tokyo.

Uematsu was impassive as the verdict was announced, looking straight ahead at the judge as he was sentenced.

He wore a black suit with his hair in a long ponytail down to his waist, and was flanked by six uniformed court officers wearing masks.

Uematsu, who faced six charges, including murder, reportedly said before the trial that he would not appeal any verdict, though he argued he did not deserve the death penalty.

He has reportedly said he wanted to eradicate all disabled people in the horrifying attack that also left 26 people wounded.

He turned himself in to police after the assault, carrying bloodied knives.

It later emerged he had left his job at the home just months earlier and been forcibly hospitalized after telling colleagues he intended to kill people at the center.

However, he was discharged after just 12 days when a doctor decided he was not a threat.

He had also written a letter outlining plans to attack the home, claiming “disabled people only create unhappiness.”

Among the few victims to be identified publicly was a 19-year-old woman, Miho, whose mother said Uematsu “didn’t need a future.”

“I hate you so much. I want to rip you apart. Even the most extreme penalty is light for you. I will never forgive you,” the mother said before the verdict, public broadcaster NHK said. “Please bring back my most precious daughter... You’re still alive. It’s not fair. It’s wrong.”

“I demand capital punishment,” she added.

Takashi Ono, whose son was severely injured in the attack, told reporters he was “relieved.”

“The judge gave the sentence the victims’ families hoped for,” he said.

However, some questioned the need for the death sentence, a policy that faces little major opposition in Japan.

“It shouldn’t have been the death sentence. We should have allowed him to learn better,” said Rie Sumida, a disabled 45-year-old woman waiting for the verdict.

“If you kill the person because of what he did, it means you do the same thing as Uematsu,” she said.

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content_text:
By Kuo An-chia and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Taipei City Animal Protection Office has introduced a free insurance program for people who adopt dogs or cats aged seven or older in a bid to increase the adoption rate of strays at the city’s animal shelters.

The program, which applies to dogs and cats adopted since Jan. 1, covers medical bills, owner liability insurance and pet funeral costs for one year, the office said.

The office last year began offering pet insurance to those who adopt strays aged three to seven, and this year’s program is an extension of that, it said on Sunday.

“In the past, there were no insurance programs for pets and if they became sick, the veterinary bills could be very expensive. We hope this program would make more people aware of pet insurance options,” it said.

The program would cover up to 100 adopted dogs or cats per owner, it said.

If a pet requires a visit to the vet, the owner would pay a maximum of NT$1,000 per visit, up to NT$5,000 if the animals need to stay at an animal clinic and up to NT$10,000 for surgery, it said.

Most people who adopt strays are motivated by their need for a pet and offering benefits to potential owners would not substantially increase adoption rates, office director Sung Nien-chieh (宋念潔) said.

However, as adoption rates for older dogs are particularly low, and as people have expressed concerns about older dogs’ health, the office hopes that offering the insurance would convince more people to adopt older dogs, he said.

Older dogs are also often more affectionate toward their owners than younger dogs, contrary to popular belief, he said, adding that people who adopt older dogs would not need to worry about vaccinations, which would have been done already.

Those interested in adopting older dogs can sign up for the insurance program offered through the office at the shelters, he said.

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title: Taipei unveils free insurance for older strays at shelters


title: Russia to launch fund in bid to shield economy

content_text:
Russia is to create a 300 billion ruble (US$4 billion) anti-crisis fund to try to shield its economy from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said yesterday.

Moscow has said it might miss its growth targets this year and global markets have been bruised by the impact of the virus.

A sharp drop in the price of oil, Russia’s main export, has left Russia particularly vulnerable, with the rouble sinking to four-year lows against the US dollar.

The Russian Ministry of Finance and the Russian central bank have already pledged support to everything from the banking sector to the rouble and the state debt market, and attention is now focused on a key interest rate meeting set for Friday.

New support measures would include tax breaks for tourism companies and airlines, and that Russia would expand its preferential loans program for businesses, Mishustin said.

Andrei Belousov, his first deputy, last week said that Russia might miss its economic growth target this year, originally set at 2 percent, while economists have warned that the country’s economy might turn negative amid low oil prices and slower business activity.

Russia has 63 confirmed COVID-19 cases and is building a new hospital outside Moscow to prepare for a possible increase in numbers. That is in addition to a hospital that was recently converted to treat coronavirus patients only.

There have been no deaths from the virus in Russia so far, authorities say.

Russia is already restricting passenger flights and has halted many trains to Europe.

Russia would close its border with Belarus as well, Mishustin said.

Russia has recommended that institutions of higher education switch to distance learning, while the city of Moscow has made school attendance optional.

There have been some signs of panic buying. Shelves over the weekend in a number of Moscow shops were lacking toilet paper, washing powder and canned products, as well as rice and flour.

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content_text:
Virus Outbreak: Students, teachers barred from traveling overseas

The government has decided to prohibit students and teachers at high-school level and below from traveling abroad until the end of this semester due to the recent increase in the number of imported COVID-19 cases, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday.

Following discussions with experts, the Executive Yuan and other government agencies, the center decided that overseas travel would be inappropriate during the pandemic and made a recommendation that the Executive Yuan require that students and teachers at institutions below tertiary level not go abroad, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center.

The requirement would be in effect through the final day of classes, Chen said.

The announcement came after the New Taipei City Government yesterday said that it was prohibiting students and teachers below tertiary level from traveling overseas.

Several cities and counties followed suit, while some local governments called on the central government to create a policy on the matter.

The moves came after reports that a senior-high student living in northern Taiwan had been diagnosed with COVID-19. The school’s classes were the first in the nation to be suspended due to the disease.

New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said that unless they have a special reason, students and teachers below tertiary level cannot travel abroad before the semester ends.

Students whose parents insist on taking them abroad would be penalized, New Taipei City Education Department Commissioner Chang Ming-wen (張明文) said.

Their leave would only be approved if they are traveling for a competition, to visit relatives or other special reasons, he added.

Prior to the CECC’s announcement, the National Students’ Rights Seminar in Taiwan, in response to the several local government following New Taipei City’s ban, said in a statement that it believed the local governments’ travel restrictions were in violation of Article 10 of the Constitution, which guarantees the “freedom of residence and of change of residence.”

Earlier yesterday the Ministry of Education said that it had asked schools to reach out to students, faculty and staff returning from abroad to confirm if they would need to be quarantined at home or manage their own health.

Additional reporting by Sherry Hsiao

people: 陳時中 侯友宜


title: Ministry eyeing subsidy program for restaurants

content_text:
The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday said it is working on a subsidy program to help struggling restaurants reduce the costs charged by third-party food delivery providers during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The ministry yesterday met with representatives of restaurants, night markets and travel agencies, the third meeting it has held in its attempts to assist the affected sectors during the outbreak.

To mitigate the impact of the outbreak, restaurants have been turning to food delivery platforms, such as Uber Eats, Foodpanda and Deliveroo, to boost sales, but the approach comes at a cost — the providers charge commission fees that are 30 to 40 percent the cost of the delivery.

“We are drafting measures to subsidize commission fees as restaurants are suffering,” Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) told reporters after the meeting. “They [restaurant owners] have been advised to negotiate with [food delivery platforms] to cut the commission fees. Together with government help, they could save money. The ministry can help with this.”

Restaurants are hoping to at least halve the fees, Shen said.

The owners of food stalls in Taipei’s Ningxia Night Market (寧夏夜市) have reached an agreement with food delivery platforms to cut the commission to 10 to 30 percent, he said.

The ministry has set up a special budget of NT$160 million (US$5.29 million) to subsidize food delivery fees for about 11,000 small restaurants, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) reported yesterday.

The subsidy would be capped at NT$15,000 for each restaurant, the report said.

At the meeting, the ministry was urged to issue “stimulus coupons” as soon as possible to boost consumption, Shen said.

Businesses also urged the government to cut electricity and water rates, as well as taxes, he said.

They also called on the government to temporarily relax the regulations on working hours to help businesses weather the impact of the outbreak, Shen added.

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content_text:
Chlitina to raise dividend, warns of virus headwinds

LOOKING GOOD:
 Steady expansion in its beauty salon franchises and higher profit per store boosted the top and bottom lines to record levels last year, the firm said

Chlitina Holding Ltd (麗豐), which sells cosmetics and skincare products, plans to increase its dividend after reporting strong revenue and profit for last year, but said it sees headwinds in the first quarter amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Net profit last year increased 17.5 percent year-on-year to NT$1.43 billion (US$47.32 million), or earnings per share of NT$18.02, Chlitina said in a statement on Friday last week.

Consolidated revenue expanded 12.24 percent year-on-year to NT$5.14 billion, with gross margin and operating margin rising to 84.07 percent and 34.81 percent respectively, the company said.

Chlitina distributes products under its namesake brand to beauty salon franchises in Taiwan, China and Vietnam.

Steady expansion in its beauty salon franchises and higher profit per store boosted its top and bottom lines to record levels last year, the company said in the statement.

The company’s board of directors has proposed distributing a cash dividend of NT$13 per common share this year — a payout ratio of 72.14 percent — after paying NT$12 last year, Chlitina said.

That is a dividend yield of 7.85 percent based on the shares closing price of NT$165.50 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the general business environment this quarter, Chlitina said.

“Under the influence of the outbreak, consumer demand for beauty products has changed,” the statement said. “However, consumers still need basic skincare services and they are more inclined to purchase products through online channels to reduce contact with other people when going out.”

People are looking to beauty salons to provide skincare knowledge via their online channels, it said.

“So far, more than 50 percent of the company’s beauty salon franchises have resumed operations and ordered products from the company, while e-commerce platform Beauty Health Happiness (新美力) also reported strong sales of antibacterial products and masks,” Chlitina said.

The company said it expects the business climate to gradually stabilize, minimizing the impact of coronavirus-related uncertainty on its business, after it received a 25.19 million yuan (US$3.59 million) subsidy from the Shanghai City Government this month.

The company plans to expand its cooperation with General Biologicals Corp (普生), a supplier of medical diagnostic testing kits, to widen its product portfolio, Chlitina said.

Chlitina has a 20.05 percent stake in General Biologicals.

Chlitina on Friday last week began a share buyback scheme to support its share price. The shares have fallen 30.46 percent since the start of the year, compared with the broader market’s 19 percent decline.

The company plans to purchase 1 million shares on the open market at between NT$150 and NT$262 per share until May 12, Chlitina said.

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content_text:
DISEASE PREVENTION:
 NTU’s Chen Chia-yang suggested restaurants reduce customer capacity so that there is more space between people, as has been done in New York

Public health specialists at National Taiwan University (NTU) yesterday urged the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to designate COVID-19 a category 1 notifiable communicable disease.

They also advised against allowing a large proportion of the population to become infected to achieve “herd immunity.”

NTU College of Public Health vice dean Tony Chen (陳秀熙) said that the WHO on Wednesday last week declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic and the virus is spreading from international transportation hubs to other countries and regions on all continents, including India, Africa and Australia.

National Taiwan University Institute of Food Safety and Health director Chen Chia-yang speaks during a forum in Taipei yesterday.
 Photo: CNA

Many people are concerned about how the virus spread from the US’ west coast to its east coast and to almost all its states, he said, adding that countries in the Middle East with reported cases jumped from 10 to 17 last week, and cases are also being reported in countries with poor health systems.

“Different countries have chosen different approaches against the COVID-19 outbreak, such as Israel, Australia and New Zealand adopting strict border control and travel restrictions,” he said, adding that other measures including a lockdown, exit-entry controls, suspending school or banning public gatherings are also being implemented in other countries.

However, he said that a few European countries have taken a more passive approach, including not conducting COVID-19 testing unless a patient is in a critical condition, or letting more than half the population become infected by the coronavirus to grow immunity to it and achieve “herd immunity,” which is “definitely inadvisable.”

Although some infected patients can recover on their own, they can transmit the virus to people with higher risk of serious complications, he said, adding that people in countries with better health systems could carry the virus to countries with poorer health systems, hugely affecting those people and areas.

Each nation’s disease prevention and control policies should be made keeping the global disease prevention ecosphere in mind, Chen said, adding that while the risk of COVID-19 infection in Taiwan has been relatively low, the nation should remain alert and not relax its control measures.

NTU public health specialists have called on the UN to designate COVID-19 as an international quarantinable communicable disease and the government to list it as a category 1 notifiable communicable disease, so that they would have legal authority to implement stricter disease control measures, he said.

When asked to comment on the policy of building herd immunity, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), said on Saturday that “Taiwan would not implement this approach.”

“Every country will choose its disease prevention strategy according to its epidemic situation and medical resources, and generally the ‘herd immunity’ approach is taken when the nation’s healthcare system is overwhelmed by a large number of infected patients in a short period of time,” he said. “Taiwan is not facing such a situation.”

Chen Shih-chung said that herd immunity approach would be feasible if there was a 100 percent guarantee that COVID-19 would not cause serious complications.

Currently there is no scientific evidence to prove how long it takes for an infected person to gain immunity after infection, he said.

NTU Institute of Food Safety and Health director Chen Chia-yang (陳家揚) yesterday said that the food service industry should enhance hygiene regulations and employees’ health management, as well as reorganize restaurant environment for more effective disease prevention.

Restaurants should require employees to thoroughly wash their hands with soap frequently at work, to wear sterile gloves when preparing food, to separate the jobs of cashier and food courier, and to stay at home when they are feeling ill, he said.

Restaurants should stop providing free food samples at food courts, college dean Chan Chang-chuan (詹長權) said, adding that it is suggested that they refer to the half-capacity mandate in New York, which requires customer capacity to be reduced so that there is more space between people, or insert a board between strangers eating at the same table.

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title: Virus Outbreak: Specialists say virus must be classified


title: Groups gather in Taipei to mark Wild Lily movement

content_text:
‘PURSUE REAL CHANGE’:
 Reform is not yet complete, the groups said and called for the establishment of a pluralistic democratic system at the legislature

Representatives from several groups yesterday gathered in front of the main gate of Taipei’s Liberty Square to mark the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the Wild Lily student movement.

Organizers from the groups, including the National Students’ Union of Taiwan (NSUT), the Taiwan Youth Association for Democracy, the Taiwan Citizen Front and the Economic Democracy Union, carried a banner that read: “Fellow citizens, how can we tolerate the oppression of 700 emperors again?”

The banner is a replica of one held by student demonstrators from National Taiwan University in 1990, NSUT president Tan Ko-him (陳佑維) said.

Representatives from civic groups mark the 30th anniversary of the Wild Lily student movement in front of the main gate of Taipei’s Liberty Square yesterday.
 Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times

“Although at the time martial law had already been lifted in Taiwan, an atmosphere of ‘unfreedom’ still permeated the air,” he said.

The movement’s participants “became a force that pushed the island forward,” he said.

“Today, 30 years later, we mention the Wild Lily [movement] again not just to commemorate history,” he said.

“After breaking free from the oppression of 700 emperors, reform is not yet complete,” the groups said in a statement, which the members read aloud.

They also listed several demands for the lawmakers elected on Jan. 11.

These included a call for the Democratic Progressive Party not to use its legislative majority to “block the discussion of diverse opinions.”

Other parties, on the other hand, should “pursue real changes to the content of bills,” the groups said.

They also demanded a reform of the Legislative Yuan’s electoral system.

The current system “overly protects” the two major political parties, and is “not conducive to the establishment of a pluralistic democratic system,” they said.

Chou Ko-jen (周克任), one of the participants in the Wild Lily movement, said that the atmosphere at Liberty Square today was different from 1990.

“Back then, as soon as we came to this place and reporters arrived, riot police began to prepare,” he said.

Many issues remain unresolved, he said, adding that motivating civil servants at the local level to enforce the law is crucial to Taiwan’s competitiveness.

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title: TAIEX falls below 10,000 amid rate cuts

content_text:
FED EFFECT:
 An analyst said that a US rate cut was to soothe market sentiment, but anxiety was the result, as it indicated that the situation was worse than expected

The TAIEX yesterday closed below 10,000 points for the first time in 13 months, plunging 20 percent from its peak in January, reflecting rising concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, which has prompted several central banks to announce interest rate cuts.

The index dove 4.06 percent to close at 9,717.77, the first time it has closed below 10,000 points since it closed at 9,932 on Jan. 30 last year, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.

Turnover on the main board was NT$209.379 billion (US$6.93 billion), with foreign institutional investors selling a net NT$33.35 billion in local shares, the data showed.

Analysts attributed the decline to investor concerns over the US Federal Reserve on Sunday slashing rates by a full percentage point, four times its usual range.

“Theoretically, the rate cut should have soothed market sentiment, but it instead it made investors feel anxious and presume that the situation was so bad that the Fed needed to conduct a larger-than-expected reduction,” Capital Investment Trust Corp (群益投信) fund manager Daniel Tsai (蔡彥正) told the Taipei Times by telephone.

Investors had also turned conservative over Taiwanese companies after Apple Inc delayed the release of its 5G iPhone due to the pandemic, with the delay to weaken momentum for the nation’s iPhone suppliers, while plummeting crude oil prices weigh on local petrochemical firms, Tsai said.

Smartphone camera lens maker Largan Precision Co’s (大立光) shares dipped 8.25 percent to NT$3,725, while shares of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the world’s largest contract electronics maker, sank 4.69 percent to NT$71.1 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) shares dropped 3.98 percent to NT$70 and Formosa Plastics Corp (台灣塑膠) declined 2.98 percent to NT$78.2.

The TAIEX has dropped significantly from its 30-year high of 12,179 points on Jan. 14, which is an omen that should not be ignored, analysts said.

“Although a drop of 20 percent or more is usually considered a sign of the market turning bearish, we need to wait to see if Taiwan’s equity market has ended a bull run,” Hua Nan Securities Investment Management Co (華南投顧) chairman David Chu (儲祥生) said by telephone.

“Bearish or not, you can say that the local market is going through a difficult time. Global and domestic consumption would be weakened by the continued spread of the virus, travel bans and the cancelation of sports events,” Chu said.

Even with Taiwan’s central bank expected to cut interest rates at its quarterly board meeting on Thursday, it is not likely to boost the TAIEX much, as people would not increase their investments or consumption just because of a rate cut, he said.

“People are eager to know when the outbreak would be contained, but a rate cut will not provide an answer,” Chu said.

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content_text:
The Swedish government yesterday presented a package of measures worth more than 300 billion kronor (US$30.94 billion) to support the economy in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The package included measures such as the central government assuming the full cost for sick leave from companies through next month and May, as well as the brunt of the cost for temporary redundancies due to the crisis.

On Sunday, airline SAS AB, which is partially owned by the state, announced that it would temporarily lay off up to 90 percent of its staff.

SAS AB Airbus A320s are parked at Copenhagen Airport in Denmark on Sunday.
 Photo: Reuters

The biggest cost will come from allowing companies to put off paying tax and value-added tax for up to a year — retroactive to the start of this year — which Swedish Minister of Finance Magdalena Andersson said by itself could cost up to 300 billion kronor in the short term.

“This is a completely unique situation for the Swedish economy,” Andersson told a news conference. “We want this decision to mean that as many companies as possible get through this crisis so that we can protect Swedish companies and Swedish jobs.”

Sweden is in a strong position to bear the financial costs of the outbreak with strong government finances and government debt at its lowest since the late 1970s, Andersson said.

Sweden has already announced extra cash for local authorities to help fight the pandemic, while the Swedish central bank has provided up to 500 billion kronor in loans to firms through the banking system.

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title: Sweden launches virus crisis package


title: Activity in China worse than expected

content_text:
‘EXTERNAL EPIDEMICS’:
 A Chinese official said that coronavirus responses in other nations may affect demand for Chinese exports and disrupt travel and other activity

China’s consumer spending and factory activity fell more than expected in January and last month as it fought the outbreak of COVID-19, prompting some forecasters to warn that this year’s economic growth might slump to its lowest level since the 1970s.

Retail sales fell 20.5 percent from a year earlier after shopping malls and other businesses were closed in late January, Chinese government data showed yesterday.

Factory output declined by a record 13.5 percent after the Lunar New Year holiday was extended to keep manufacturing employees at home, the data showed.

The figures suggest that the world’s second-largest economy is shrinking despite the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to revive manufacturing and other industries, some forecasters said.

“This is not the end of the nightmare. Watch out!” ING Bank NV economist Iris Pang (彭藹嬈) wrote in a report.

ING cut its forecast of this year’s economic growth to 3.6 percent, which would be the weakest since at least the 1970s, before market-style reforms set off China’s boom. It would exceed 1990’s low of 3.9 percent following the crackdown on the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests.

In the current quarter, activity might contract by as much as 6 percent from a year earlier, the weakest in at least five decades, Macquarie Group head of greater China economics Larry Hu (胡偉俊) said.

Others said they expect a contraction this quarter, but gave no figures.

Beijing is trying to head off a deeper downturn, which would raise the risk of politically dangerous job losses.

Authorities have eased some of the controls that idled factories and closed shopping malls, restaurants and other businesses, and left city streets empty and eerily silent for weeks in an effort to contain the coronavirus, which emerged in central China in December last year.

The government has cut interest rates and is promising tax breaks and other aid, especially for small, private companies that are China’s economic engine.

However, companies say that it will be months before factories that make smartphones, toys and other consumer goods return to normal activity.

Many are short of raw materials and employees because travel and other controls still are in place in areas with tens of millions of people.

The outlook is further clouded by anti-virus curbs that are shutting down the US and European economies, and might depress demand for Chinese exports and disrupt travel and other activity.

“There are indeed some external epidemics that are spreading, which may increase our uncertainty,” Chinese National Bureau of Statistics Director Mao Shengyong (毛盛勇) said at a news conference.

Officials will “strive to minimize the impact of the epidemic and accomplish this year’s goals,” Mao said. “There will be more improvement in the second quarter.”

Still, it will be “extremely difficult” to achieve even 5 percent growth, Hu said. “Top leaders will have to rethink the target for this year.”

The ruling party’s growth target usually is announced at the annual meeting of China’s legislature. That usually occurs in early March, but the event was postponed due to the virus, with no new date set.

Investment in factories, real estate and other fixed assets fell 24.5 percent from a year earlier, the bureau reported. Investment by private businesses tumbled 26.4 percent, while commercial real-estate sales plummeted 39.9 percent.

The data “point to an even deeper contraction this quarter,” Capital Economics Ltd economist Julian Evans-Pritchard said in a report.

Vehicle sales, reported earlier, plunged 82 percent last month from a year earlier. Exports fell 17 percent in January and last month.

This month’s consumer spending and factory output might look even worse because they lack the boost the latest figures got from including early January, before the virus affected businesses, economists said.

Activity is picking up, “but the speed is disappointing,” Tommy Wu (胡東安) and Louis Kuijs of Oxford Economics Ltd said in a report.

The past week’s coal use by power plants, one way to measure industrial activity, is down 20 percent from a year ago, they said.

Traffic is also down.

“These data suggest that the economy has so far continued to shrink,” Wu and Kuijs said.

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title: Tax grace plan for firms and individuals unveiled

content_text:
INSTALLMENTS:
 Those affected by COVID-19 would be allowed to defer some taxes for a year or pay in installments over up to three years, the minister of finance said

Companies affected by the COVID-19 pandemic would be allowed to delay paying corporate income tax for a year or pay it in installments, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday, as industrial heavyweights press for sweeping tax cuts.

Minister of Finance Su Jain-rong (蘇建榮) made the announcement at a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee, saying that tax cuts would require lengthy legal revisions before they could be implemented, while grace periods only need executive orders, which he could issue right away.

“I will promulgate administrative orders later in the day that would allow companies affected by the pandemic to postpone paying business income tax by a year or pay in installments over three years,” Su said.

Minister of Finance Su Jain-rong speaks at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee in Taipei yesterday.
 Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times

Trade groups have urged the government to suspend business income, land, house and entertainment taxes, among others, to help local companies withstand a plunge in economic and consumer activity.

A NT$60 billion (US$1.99 billion) relief package is not enough to achieve that goal, Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce chairman Lin Por-fong (林伯豐) said, adding that other nations have introduced more robust stimulus packages.

Su said that Taiwan did not cut taxes during the SARS outbreak in 2003 or the global financial crisis in 2008.

The 2008 crisis wreaked havoc on tax revenue with a drop of NT$250 billion and it is too early to gauge the effects of COVID-19, as the situation is evolving rapidly, Su said.

Companies whose revenues have fallen 10 percent from a year earlier would qualify to apply for tax deferrals, he said.

As of last week, the outbreak had prompted 109 firms to introduce unpaid leave for a combined 3,835 workers, and the number is expected to climb amid tightening measures on travel and gatherings.

The tax moratorium would encompass a wide range of obligations, but would not extend to inheritance, gift and land value increment taxes, which suggest an increase in wealth, Taxation Administration Director-General Lee Ching-hua (李慶華) said.

The National Stabilization Fund could step in when necessary to bolster the local bourse if volatility becomes too high, Su said.

“The market would start to improve one or two weeks after interventions, based on experience,” Su said, adding that the government has not seen a need to act yet.

The fund, overseen by members from across party lines, can mobilize NT$500 billion and would require uniform consensus for an intervention, Su said.

The fund posted a profit in five of its six rescue attempts, he said.

Meanwhile, people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic would be allowed to postpone tax payments for up to one year or pay by installments for up to three years, Su said.

The ministry had said earlier that those ordered into isolation due to COVID-19 infection, or quarantine at home after having contact with a confirmed case travel to outbreak-affected areas, would be allowed to delay payment for up to one month, with taxes covered being vehicle license, individual income, house, business income, business, commodity, tobacco and alcohol and selected goods and services taxes levied from this month to May.

The grace period would be extended to up to one year, Lee said, adding that people who are eligible could also opt to pay in installments.

Monthly installments could be paid over a maximum of three years, Lee said.

Government compensation of NT$1,000 per day for Republic of China citizens ordered into isolation or quarantine would be tax free, Lee said.

Additional reporting by CNA

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people: 李慶華 蘇建榮


content_text:
‘APPALLING’:
 Long lines formed in many of the airports accepting return flights from Europe, with experts saying that the conditions people had to wait in were unsafe

Officials across the country on Sunday curtailed many elements of US life to fight a COVID-19 outbreak, with health officials recommending that groups of 50 or more not get together and a government expert saying that a 14-day national shutdown might be needed.

Governors and mayors closed restaurants, bars and schools as the nation sank deeper into chaos. Travelers returning home from abroad were stuck in line for hours at major airports for screenings, crammed into just the kind of crowded spaces that public health officials have urged people to avoid.

In a sign of impending economic gloom, the US Federal Reserve slashed its benchmark interest rate to near zero.

Travelers wait in line to go through customs at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago on Sunday.
 Photo: AP

US President Donald Trump sought to calm a jittery nation by declaring the government has “tremendous control” over the situation and urging people to stop the panic buying of grocery staples that has depleted store shelves nationwide.

Gun stores started seeing a similar run on weapons and ammunition as the panic intensified.

As Americans struggled with changing their daily habits, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a dramatic recommendation: Because large events can fuel the spread of the disease, it said that gatherings of 50 people or more should be canceled or postponed throughout the country for the next eight weeks.

Yet in a sign of the difficulty of striking the right balance, the CDC statement also said that the recommendation does not apply to “the day-to-day operation of organizations such as schools, institutes of higher learning, or businesses.”

Even before the warning, parts of the country already look like ghost towns, with others areas are about to follow, as theme parks closed, beaches shooed away spring breakers and states and large cities ordered bars and restaurants shuttered.

“The time for persuasion and public appeals is over,” Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said. “This is not a joke. No one is immune to this.”

New York City said eateries could only accept takeout and delivery orders.

Mayor Bill de Blasio also ordered nightclubs, movie theaters and other entertainment venues closed.

“These places are part of the heart and soul of our city. They are part of what it means to be a New Yorker, but our city is facing an unprecedented threat, and we must respond with a wartime mentality,” he said in a statement on Sunday night.

His decision came after Anthony Fauci, the federal government’s top infectious disease expert, said that he would like to see a 14-day national shutdown imposed to prevent the virus’ spread.

“I think Americans should be prepared that they are going to have to hunker down significantly more than we as a country are doing,” said Fauci, a member of the White House task force on combating the spread of COVID-19.

He heads the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

There is no indication Trump is considering such a move.

The death toll in the US has climbed to 64, while infections passed 3,700.

Meanwhile, state and local officials rained harsh criticism on Trump and his administration over long lines of returning international passengers at some US airports.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot lambasted the administration for allowing about 3,000 Americans returning from Europe to be stuck for hours inside the customs area at O’Hare International Airport on Saturday, violating “social distancing” recommendations from the CDC.

The passengers, many of them rushing home over fears they would be stuck in Europe, were screened for coronavirus symptoms before they were allowed to leave the airport.

Long lines also formed Saturday in Boston, Dallas and others of the 13 airports accepting return flights from Europe.

“People were forced into conditions that are against CDC guidance and are totally unacceptable,” Lightfoot said.

Robert Murphy, executive director of Institute for Global Health at Northwestern University, said that he was “appalled” by what he saw on Saturday at nearby O’Hare.

“If they weren’t exposed to COVID-19 before, they probably are now. From a public health perspective, this is malpractice,” Murphy said in a statement on Sunday. “The lack of preparation and concern is unfathomable.”

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title: US moves closer toward shutdown


content_text:
TRANSPARENCY:
 The prime minister and senior officials are to hold daily televised briefings with medical advisers to explain the government’s response to the pandemic

British Prime Minister Johnson was yesterday to ask businesses to help build medical equipment, as he tried to reboot his COVID-19 strategy after the UK death toll rose to 35.

Amid criticism that they are not doing enough to tackle the crisis, Johnson and senior ministers are to hold daily televised briefings with medical advisers to explain the government’s response.

Plans are being drawn up for curbing some everyday activities and asking people older than 70 to stay home, potentially for months.

Johnson was to hold a call with manufacturers, including Unipart Group, to urge them to make ventilators for the National Health Service.

He was to promise to buy as many of the ventilators as the companies, including automakers, can produce, officials said. The government is also in talks with private hospitals to buy up bed space to increase capacity.

“Preparing for the spread of the coronavirus outbreak is a national priority and we’re calling on the manufacturing industry and all those with relevant expertise who might be able to help to come together to help,” Johnson’s office said in a statement. “We need to step up production of vital equipment, such as ventilators, so that we can all help the most vulnerable, and we need businesses to come to us and help in this national effort.”

The UK has been criticized for not following other countries that have shut schools and banned large gatherings to stop the spread of the disease. Its response so far has centered on personal hygiene, self-isolation of those who think they are sick, and tracing and testing those who had contact with people who tested positive.

Defending the government’s approach, British Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps said that ministers were being led by their scientific and medical advisers, adding that the outbreak was not yet as advanced as in other European countries.

The UK has “just been in a slightly different stage, obviously compared to places like Italy, but also a little behind where France and Germany are,” Shapps told Sky News. “It’s not that we’re not going to get there, but our responses, of course, are timed in a different way unique to the particular stage of this that we’re in in the UK.”

Johnson’s team also came under fire for not being open enough about its plans after favored media outlets were briefed about the details rather than information being made publicly available.

“I cannot say this strongly enough: Ministers need to stop anonymously briefing journalists and start speaking directly to the public,” Gavin Barwell, who was chief of staff to Johnson’s predecessor, Theresa May, said on Twitter. “Trust in government is going to be vital during the difficult months ahead and it is best fostered by transparency, not off the record briefing.”

The number of deaths rose to 35 on Sunday, compared with 21 a day earlier, according to data released by the UK Department of Health and Social Care. A total of 1,372 had tested positive for the disease, compared with 1,140 on Saturday, it said.

The government said it is working to help companies hit by the crisis after Virgin Atlantic said the airline industry needed support as much as ￡7.5 billion (US$9.22 billion) if it is to cope with global travel restrictions.

Ministers are to introduce proposed emergency laws to parliament this week to enable them to take action to control the outbreak.

The laws are to include powers to ban large gatherings and reinforce regulations allowing people to be quarantined if they are judged to be a risk to the public.

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title: Virus Outbreak: UK asks makers to build ventilators