countries: 英國 中國

title: IOC宣布：奧運最多只能延「12個月」　可能春天提前舉行

content_text:
▲東京奧運最多只能延期12個月，所以有可能在春天舉辦 。（圖／路透）

記者林彥臣／綜合報導

為了因應從中國武漢爆發的新冠肺炎（COVID-19）疫情影響，原定於今年7月舉行的東京奧運確定延期，但是IOC（國際奧會）主席巴赫(Thomas Bach)於25日表示，希望組委會方面盡快決定明年延期的正確日期，最遲就是12個月以內，也不排除春季舉行的可能。

根據英國Itv報導，巴赫在電話會議中對東京組委會做出上述建議，且在26日還將與33個單項國際總會進行電話會議，必須調整這些單項運動明年的賽事行事曆。

所以這代表延期舉辦的東京奧運並不一定會在明年夏季舉行，也有可能提前至3月或4月這段期間來進行，因此選手備戰奧運的時程，不能以延後1年做考量，必須考慮1年內舉辦的可能性。

►酒精乾洗手特惠組！～防疫殺菌神器來囉～


references: 網友 臉書

events: 新冠病毒 冠狀病毒 新冠肺炎 COVID-19

title: 性學專家：高潮可以殺死新冠病毒！口愛可消除「業障」

content_text:
▲性學專家納塔莉亞說：性高潮可以殺死新冠病毒！(圖／翻攝自Natalia Kobikinai社群網頁)

國際中心／綜合報導

在社群媒體上擁有大量粉絲的性學專家納塔莉亞․科比姬奈(Natalia Kobikinai)說，性愛「可以強有力的激發免疫系統」。而年長者之所以容易感染新冠肺炎(COVID-19)，是因為他(她)們普遍缺乏性活動所致。

納塔莉亞聲稱「性高潮可以殺死所有冠狀病毒」，同時暗示表現可圈可點而深入的口愛可以「清除業障」並且「提高悸動」，因此對免疫系統有裨益。

出生於俄羅斯的納塔莉亞在Instagram上擁有98,000名粉絲。她素來以向龐大粉絲群發布多姿多彩的性愛資訊而知名。在最近的一次線上課程中，她教導學員們如何透過性行為將傳染性極強的新冠肺炎拒諸門外。納塔莉亞說：「性高潮會殺死所有冠狀病毒，我可以向你掛保證。性愛對冠狀病毒有很好的預防作用，因為它可以激發你的免疫系統。年長者為什麼會生病？那正是因為他(她)們缺乏性高潮。如果有充足的性行為活動，他(她)們就更有能耐可以對付病毒。」

她補充說：「表現良好而深入的口愛，可以掃除『業障』、提升性高潮的悸動。因此，想要清除『業障』的女孩們，請去找一位願意提供『大香蕉』的「受業者』」。

不過，並非所有人都相信這番「金玉良言」。上述「高潮可殺死新冠病毒」的建議曝光後，引來不少網友灌爆她的推特，向她吐糟。一名網友說：「我不知道該怎麼說，但最好不要拿你這套胡說八道拿去告訴別人。」然而，天下勇者何其多，也有人信誓旦旦的說，對她的建議願意一試。

納塔莉亞是好幾本暢銷書的作者，其中包括《幸福女人指南：69個性愛秘招》(A Woman's Guide to Happiness, 69 Sex Tips)以及《夢中的33天》(33 Days to the Dream)等。

根據當地媒體報導，她擁有俄羅斯「家庭系統治療及醫學心理學研究所」(Research Institute for Family Systems Therapy and Medical Psychology)的「家庭心理治療及性學」(Family Psychotherapy and Sexology)碩士學位。她同時也是一位合格的家庭治療師和臨床心理學家。

俄羅斯一個性工作者的臉書群組最近分享了一些圖片，教導大家在冠狀病毒大流行期間，如何在保持安距離下跟尋芳客進行性愛。除了採取可接受的性愛姿勢外，該群組同時建議性工作者應該請客人在發生性行為前先洗乾淨j臉和雙手，至少20秒鐘。其他建議還包括不妨說服客人全程戴上口罩、 以及拒絕服務任何有感冒或流感症狀的客人等。


content_text:
▲美國一名醫護人員在家中死亡，死後驗出感染新冠肺炎。（圖／達志影像／美聯社）

記者趙蔡州／綜合報導

美國喬治亞州（Georgia）日前傳出一起死亡命案，當地一名42歲女性醫護人員在家中死亡，直到警方約16小時後上門檢查才被發現，死者的5歲孩子當時也在家中。驗屍官透露，採驗遺體後顯示死者有感染新冠肺炎，詳細的死亡原因還要進一步釐清。

根據美國11alive報導，死者生前在喬治亞州紐南（Newnan）一間醫院工作，死亡後約12至16小時才被員警發現，當時她的5歲孩子也待在家中。驗屍人員理查德•霍克表示，他們採驗後發現死者患有新冠肺炎，目前還不確定死者的孩子是否染病。

皮埃蒙特紐南醫院（Piedmont Newnan Hospital）表示，儘管死者的詳細死亡原因還沒有確認，但其檢測顯示有感染新冠肺炎，出於謹慎起見將調查哪些人與死者生前有接觸，提醒有接觸的人進行自我檢查，甚至是採驗是否被傳染。

喬治亞州截至25日晚間10時許，累積確診達到1097例、死亡38例。喬治亞州州長布萊恩•肯普（Brian Kemp）日前宣布了一系列的防疫措施，包含關閉全州的酒吧與夜店，還有禁止10人以上的聚會活動等。

countries: 查德 美國 喬治亞

events: 新冠肺炎 死亡

title: 女醫護確診新冠肺炎！家中離奇死亡　5歲孩子伴屍16小時


taiwan-subdivisions: 高樹 琉球 新園 竹田 里港

title: Pingtung County unveils its new UAV regulations

content_text:
By Lo Hsin-chen and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Pingtung County Government on Tuesday announced the sites where people would be allowed to use uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) when an amendment to the Civil Aviation Act (民用航空法) takes effect on Tuesday next week.

Article 99 of the amended act states that local governments can designate certain zones, up to 400m in altitude, in which people can operate UAVs.

The county said that it had held five public meetings to discuss the measure, as well as inviting the Pingtung County UAV Association to consult with its officials.

Due to safety and privacy concerns, airspace in all areas included in urban construction projects, as well as Gaoshu Township (高樹), which has been designated light-aircraft airspace, is to be restricted.

Tourism areas such as Dapeng Bay (大鵬灣) and Siaoliouciou Island (小琉球), which would benefit from the use of UAVs in aerial photography, are to allow the operation of UAVs, except in residential and commercial areas, the county government said.

Operators of UAVs near or inside Kenting National Park would not only have to abide by the amended Civil Aviation Act, but also related clauses in the National Park Act (國家公園法), it said.

As larger, fixed-wing UAVs would require a runway, the county government has designated areas for UAV airfields near Gaoshu, Ligang (里港), Jhutian (竹田) and Sinyuan (新園) townships, it said.

The townships were selected for their open spaces and because they are not close to existing popular tourism areas, it added.

The UAV airfields would also serve as tourist attractions and hopefully draw more visitors, the county government said.

Ongoing adjustments would be made to the areas where UAVs can operate as the county government received feedback from the public and updates its system with more detailed information, it said.

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content_text:
Virus Outbreak: Science ministry uses copper against COVID-19

The Ministry of Science and Technology has placed copper sheets on the elevator buttons and door knobs at its building to boost disease prevention after a study showed that the new coronavirus has a shorter life span on copper surfaces.

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine last week compared the surface stability of the SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19 — and SARS-CoV-1 in aerosols, plastic, stainless steel, copper and cardboard surfaces.

SARS-CoV-2 remains viable for up to three hours in aerosols, up to four hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard, and up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel, it said.

The Ministry of Science and Technology uses small copper sheets to cover elevator buttons and other frequently touched facilities in a bid to reduce germ and bacterial residue.
 Photo: Lin Chia-nan, Taipei Times

The study was coauthored by researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, the US National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Princeton University.

The study is available at www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2004973.

Citing the article, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Shieh Dar-bin (謝達斌) on Friday last week instructed the secretariat to cover most frequently touched surfaces at the ministry building with copper sheets, a ministry official said.

As of yesterday, the elevator buttons and most door knobs at the building had been covered by small copper sheets, an innovative measure rarely seen at other agencies, the official said.

The ministry on Tuesday also installed an infrared thermometer at its entrance to take people’s temperature when they enter the building, the official said.

The building’s air-conditioning systems also operate discretely, meaning the air in different floors do not mix, the official added.

Nearly 1,300 people visit the ministry’s offices near the Technology Building MRT Station in Taipei, including employees and guests, the official said.

The ministry on Tuesday last week banned its personnel, including those at the National Applied Research Laboratories, from traveling abroad, unless they have obtained special permission.

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content_text: Comments will be moderated. Keep comments relevant to the article. Remarks containing abusive and obscene language, personal attacks of any kind or promotion will be removed and the user banned. Final decision will be at the discretion of the Taipei Times.

title: EDITORIAL CARTOON


content_text:
Virus Outbreak: Wuhan evacuees released from 14-day quarantine

Hundreds of Taiwanese who were evacuated earlier this month from the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the COVID-19 pandemic first emerged, were yesterday released from their 14-day quarantine.

The 361 — who returned to Taiwan on March 10 and 11 on two charter flights and were immediately quarantined at three facilities in New Taipei City and Taoyuan — thanked medical staff for their care and started leaving the facilities at about 6am.

Two of the evacuees developed a fever during their time in quarantine, but later tested negative for the novel coronavirus after two rounds of testing, officials in charge of the facilities said.

Facility workers arranged shuttle buses to take some of the evacuees to high-speed rail or MRT stations, while others were picked up relatives and friends.

Before the evacuees left, their temperatures were taken and they were disinfected at a checkpoint to ensure that they were in good condition.

One of the evacuees was a woman surnamed Hsiao (蕭), who traveled to Hubei Province with her Chinese husband and their son to visit her husband’s family before the Lunar New Year holiday and were stranded during the outbreak.

Hsiao said that while the family’s return home had been delayed for 42 days by the spread of the virus and quarantine, they were still delighted to be back.

Her husband, surnamed Xiang (向), said that they received good care during the quarantine, ate well and lived in a good environment.

Although the family was separated in three rooms, they communicated by telephone and the Internet to let each other know how much they missed each other, he said.

A 13-year-old female evacuee wrote a letter thanking Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), medical staff and unsung heroes at her quarantine facility.

“Taiwan will win the battle against the virus,” the girl said in the letter.

The government on Feb. 3 carried out the first evacuation of 247 people from Wuhan.

All but one of the 247 Taiwanese were released from quarantine on Feb. 18 after testing negative for the coronavirus, while the one evacuee who tested positive was discharged from a hospital on Feb. 27.

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content_text:
By Wu Shu-wei and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Nearly 60 percent of Kaohsiung residents polled said that they would vote to recall Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), think tank Taiwan Brain Trust, which conducted the survey, said yesterday.

A petition to recall the mayor is undergoing a second review and if it is passed, a vote is to be held in the latter half of June.

Of those polled, 69.7 percent said that they would participate in a vote, while 56 percent said they would still participate if there was a sharp increase in the number of COVID-19 infections.

From left, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Kaohsiung City Councilor Chen Chih-chung and DPP Legislator Tsai Yi-yu take part in a news conference yesterday in Taipei on the results of an opinion poll on Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu.
 Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times

The data showed that, irrespective of the COVID-19 pandemic, Han would likely be recalled, Taiwan Brain Trust director Wu Shih-chang (吳世昌) said.

“From the results of the survey it is clear that Kaohsiung residents have made up their minds. There seems to be a consensus that Han Kuo-yu has not been given a pass on his performance,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Yi-yu (蔡易餘) said.

DPP Kaohsiung City Councilor Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), the think tank’s chief executive, criticized Han’s statements about the advantages his administration had brought to the city.

Han’s claims are not reflected in the performance of his administration, Chen said.

Asked whether they were satisfied with Han as mayor, 59.1 percent of respondents said they were not, while 32.4 percent said that they were.

Asked to grade Han’s performance on a scale of zero to 10, 30 percent of respondents gave a grade of zero, while the average was 3.5.

Of those who voted for Han in the 2018 mayoral election, 28 percent said that they regretted having done so.

Should Han’s recall be put to a vote, 59.5 percent of respondents said they would vote in favor of recalling the mayor, while 34.5 percent said they would vote against a recall.

If the COVID-19 pandemic does not worsen, 60.5 percent of city residents are likely to participate in a recall vote and there would likely be more than 1 million votes in favor of a recall, Wu said.

If the COVID-19 situation worsens, there would be an estimated 48.7 percent voter turnout and an estimated 866,330 votes in favor of a recall, which would still meet the threshold, he said.

A turnout of 30 percent is likely all that would be needed to recall Han, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said.

If a vote takes place, it is likely that Han would become the nation’s first local government head to be recalled, he said.

The survey, conducted on Thursday and Friday last week, collected 1,072 valid samples. It had a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

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title: Han Kuo-yu likely to be recalled: survey

people: 蔡易餘 陳致中 韓國瑜


content_text:
FIX LOOPHOLE?
 The two pilots should have followed standard procedures to avoid contagion, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai said

China Airlines (CAL) must explain how two of its cargo plane pilots contracted COVID-19 when the airline has enforced disease-prevention measures designed to contain the pandemic, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday.

The two pilots should have followed standard procedures to avoid contracting the coronavirus, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said in an interview on the sidelines of a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee.

“They needed to enter and exit the airport through a designated passageway and were not allowed to go out after arriving at their hotel,” Wang said. “They were supposed to follow the same procedures when they returned to the country. We have asked the airline to investigate what they actually did when they were overseas and it should promptly fix any loophole it might have.”

China Airlines chairman Hsieh Shih-chien attends a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee in Taipei yesterday.
 Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times

The airline did not deliberately hide the information from the public, CAL chairman Hsieh Shih-chien (謝世謙), who also attended the meeting, told reporters, adding that such accusations were made by “shoddy news outlets.”

“Companies that have employees with confirmed COVID-19 infections are supposed to follow directives from the Central Epidemic Command Center [CECC],” Hsieh said. “There was absolutely nothing we could have done about it.”

The airline has already implemented many measures — also under the center’s supervision — to keep cabin crew from contracting the coronavirus, he added.

All flight attendants need to follow the center’s requirements, whether they are returning from a country with a level 3 “warning” travel advisory or are standing by at overseas travel destinations, Hsieh said, adding that flight attendants’ movements are restricted.

Pilots and flight attendants are afraid of contracting the virus, but it would be a great loss to the nation’s economy if cargo flights stopped, he said.

Rather than focusing on loopholes and whether the pilots have contracted the virus, the public should sympathize with them and give them encouragement, he said.

“What we can do is improve our operations, which is our way of protecting our employees,” Hsieh said.

Asked if CAL is prepared to dispatch another charter flight to evacuate Taiwanese from Wuhan, China, Wang said that the airline is always standing by, but that the CECC must make the call.

In an open letter, EVA Airways asked its flight attendants to self-quarantine at home from today until Sunday after it learned that some attendants became infected.

In other developments, the ministry is considering offering a NT$500 coupon to people who had to cancel an overseas package tour because of the pandemic, Wang said, adding that the coupons, which the government would need to allocate about NT$1 billion to fund, could be used for domestic travel.

Rules governing the distribution of the coupons are to be determined after the ministry consults with the Ministry of Economic Affairs, he said, adding that it has not decided whether the program should be part of a bailout package or stimulus package for businesses affected by the pandemic.

The transport ministry plans for the coupons to be used to cover expenses during domestic tours, such as accommodation costs, Wang said.

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title: Virus Outbreak: Two CAL cargo pilots infected by virus


title: Yulon Nissan shares rise 9.95% on earnings report

content_text:
GREAT EXPECTATIONS:
 Hotai Motor shares also grew nearly 10 percent yesterday as some analysts forecast higher auto sales as people avoid public transportation

Yulon Nissan Motor Co’s (裕隆日產) shares yesterday rose 9.95 percent, propelled by the company reporting six-year high earnings for last year on the back of a massive gain from its Chinese subsidiary.

Shares rallied to NT$210, the highest since it traded at NT$214 on Tuesday last week. That helped the auto subindex advance 8.28 percent, outperforming the TAIEX’s 3.87 percent gain.

Yulon Nissan, which distributes Nissan and Infiniti vehicles, reported that net profit last year jumped 23.6 percent to NT$7.28 billion (US$240.1 million), compared with NT$5.89 billion in 2018, the company said in financial statements on Tuesday.

Newly manufactured Nissan Motor Co vehicles sit parked at the company’s factory in Sunderland, UK, on Tuesday. Nissan suspended production at the plant, along with other industrial manufacturers across the region, as the rapidly spreading COVID-19 outbreak increasingly affects the economy.
 Photo: Bloomberg

Operating income last year grew 1.49 percent to NT$1.36 billion, from NT$1.34 billion in the previous year.

The company reported that earnings per share rose from NT$19.63 in 2018 to NT$24.27 last year.

Yulon Nissan’s earnings growth was mostly supported by a massive nonoperating profit totaling NT$7.75 billion, up 22.24 percent annually. The company’s Chinese subsidiary Guangzhou Fengshen Automotive Co (風神汽車) contributed NT$6.81 billion to the company last year.

The company last year increased its stake in Guangzhou Fengshen to 42.69 percent, up from 40 percent previously, the financial statements showed.

Revenue last year rose 3.34 percent to NT$32.15 billion from NT$31.11 billion in 2018.

The company’s board of directors is to review a cash dividend distribution proposal in May.

Last year, the company paid a cash dividend of NT$17.67 per share, representing a payout ratio of 90 percent.

Yulon Nissan last month sold 5,377 new vehicles, down 5.9 percent annually, while the nation’s new vehicle sales increased 39.3 percent to 27,350 units, government data showed.

Shares in Hotai Motor Co Ltd (和泰汽車), which distributes Toyota and Lexus vehicles in Taiwan, rose 9.97 percent to NT$435.5 amid expectations that people would be more willing to buy cars to avoid public transportation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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content_text:
Virus Outbreak: Ministry allocates NT$400 million to help schools

The Ministry of Education has allocated NT$400 million (US$13.2 million) to help universities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The funds are to be used to support schools that have had to introduce “flexible tuition” and “flexible learning” options for overseas students who are unable to return to their schools in Taiwan, and to help schools purchase disease-prevention supplies, such as masks and thermometers, the ministry said in a statement.

Public and private universities have until April 15 to apply for the program, it added.

About NT$100 million of the funds would come from the government’s special COVID-19 budget, the ministry said.

The Legislative Yuan earlier this month passed a NT$60 billion budget to fund prevention efforts and to provide economic stimulus and relief.

In related news, National Tsing Hua University president Hocheng Hong (賀陳弘) on Tuesday said that 20 courses at the university have shifted to distance learning until Tuesday next week after local authorities notified the school that some students and teachers had been in “close contact” with someone confirmed to have COVID-19.

According to the Hsinchu Public Health Bureau, 26 students and teachers had had contact with the person, Hocheng said in a letter to the school community.

More than 900 students at the university are affected by the suspension of on-campus instruction, and they have been asked to self-manage their health and to avoid public places until Tuesday next week, in line with regulations.

If they must go outside, they should wear a mask, he said, adding that the students should maintain detailed records of their temperatures and other activities.

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content_text:
‘DAMAGE’:
 Diminished market demand has become a reality amid travel restrictions and a recovery is evasive, the president of the Yuanta-Polaris Research Institute said

The Yuanta-Polaris Research Institute (元大寶華綜經院) yesterday cut its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year from 2.3 percent to 1.5 percent as the COVID-19 pandemic deals a blow to the global economy with no signs of easing anytime soon.

“The damage caused by COVID-19 is evolving beyond the depths of existing economic models, because health experts around the world do not have a full grasp of the disease yet,” said Liang Kuo-yuan (梁國源), the Taipei-based think tank’s president.

Research institutes at home and abroad are comparing the pandemic to the SARS outbreak of 2003 or the global financial crisis of 2008, but there is no guarantee that the analogies are valid or sound, Liang said.

Yuanta-Polaris Research Institute president Liang Kuo-yuan presents the institute’s economic forecast for this year in Taipei yesterday.
 Photo: Wu Chia-ying, Taipei Times

However, the one thing that is certain is that the virus is quickly sweeping from Asia to Europe, the US and other parts of the world, dimming global trade outlook and chilling consumer activity, he said.

The pandemic encompasses all of Taiwan’s export markets and there is no doubt that exports would take a hit beyond the earlier concerns caused by supply chain disruptions in China, he added.

Diminished market demand has become a reality following travel restrictions and business shutdowns around the world, and a recovery is evasive until the third quarter of this year or beyond, Liang said.

A protracted outbreak would suggest massive business closures and unemployment, he added.

“The chance of a V-shape recovery is as low as a full-blown recession for the time being,” he said, adding that the world is treading a tightrope and the outcome hinges on how fast it can contain the virus.

The think tank’s forecast is lower than the central bank’s 1.98 percent projection last week and the 2.3 percent growth the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics predicted last month.

However, the latter’s forecast came before the virus had spread to Europe and the US, Liang said.

Government expenditure is the only GDP component that would gain momentum amid efforts to shore up struggling companies, he said.

Private investment would hold resilient as firms continue to move production away from China and balance investment risks, he added.

Exports this year are now expected to increase only 1.27 percent, while imports might grow mildly at 1.3 percent, the institute said.

Private consumption might squeeze out a 1.04 percent increase as people cut spending, while the government seeks to lend support, it said.

The decline in oil prices is the only favorable development, which would allow Taiwan to post trade surpluses, Liang said.

The New Taiwan dollar might trade at an average of NT$30.36 against the greenback as the central bank maneuvers to support exports while seeking to avert currency manipulation charges by the US, Liang said.

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title: Virus Outbreak: Institute slashes GDP forecast to 1.5%


title: Virus Outbreak: One-third of humanity under virus lockdown

content_text:
India yesterday went into a three-week lockdown, with one-third of the world now under orders to stay indoors.

India ordered its 1.3 billion people — the world’s second-biggest population — to stay at home for three weeks.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “total lockdown” call doubled the number of people around the globe under some form of movement restriction to more than 2.6 billion people.

However, the order did not stop crowds of people thronging to stock up at grocery shops and pharmacies.

India’s tally of 536 cases and nine deaths seems tiny compared with those in China, Italy and Spain, but Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and health experts have warned that the world’s second-most populous country faces a tidal wave of infections if tough steps are not taken.

Meanwhile, China, where the new virus emerged last year, loosened tough rules on the 50 million people in Hubei Province after a months-long lockdown as the country reported no new domestic cases.

However, there were another 47 imported infections from overseas, the Chinese National Health Commission said, as the number of cases brought into the country continued to swell.

Four more people died, health officials said, adding that three were in central Hubei.

Across the planet, the grim COVID-19 toll mounted further, with more than 18,200 deaths and 405,000 declared infections, half of them in Europe, an Agence France-Presse tally showed.

The medical situation is still critical in Europe, where hardest-hit Italy had mixed news.

The Mediterranean country’s daily death toll shot back up to 743 after two days of slight decline from a world-record peak of 793 on Saturday.

However, officially registered new infections rose just 8 percent for the second straight day.

Spain’s coronavirus death toll overtook that of China, rising to 3,434 after 738 people died in the past 24 hours, the government said.

Only Italy now has a higher death toll than that of Spain.

The spiraling number of deaths came as Spain entered the 11th day of lockdown to try and rein in the virus that has now infected 47,610 people, the Spanish Ministry of Health said.

Ireland ordered non-essential businesses shut, the UK planned a 4,000-bed emergency hospital in London and Spain called for practical support from the NATO military alliance.

In the US, nearly 130 million people, or 40 percent of the population, are under or would soon come under some lockdown order, including in the largest state of California.

Global markets finally started to recoup some of the losses they have logged over a tumultuous few weeks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Tuesday surged 11.3 percent, its biggest rally since 1933 during the Great Depression.

The massive rise — which was followed by huge jumps on Asian markets, including an 8 percent bump in Tokyo — came as traders took heart from agreement on Capitol Hill for the US’ largest-ever emergency spending effort.

Additional reporting by Reuters

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people: 陳時中 陳宗彥

content_text:
Virus Outbreak: Large events should be halted, CECC says

ACCLIMATION:
 Chen Shih-chung said that only ‘soft’ policies have been carried out so far, but ‘hard’ measures would be implemented if the coronavirus situation worsens

The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday recommended that indoor events of more than 100 people and outdoor events with more than 500 people should be canceled, as 19 new imported cases of COVID-19 were announced, bringing the total number in Taiwan to 235.

“The center recommends that from now, indoor events of more than 100 people and outdoor events with more than 500 people should be suspended to reduce the risk of COVID-19 community transmission,” said Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥), deputy head of the center.

Event organizers should refer to six indicators listed in the response guidelines for public gatherings, issued by the center on March 5, and evaluate the risks if they are still considering holding public events, he said.

The six indicators are: if information about the participants can be obtained beforehand, air ventilation at the event’s venue, the distance between participants, whether venue seating is fixed or mobile, the duration of the event, and whether proper hand hygiene can be implemented and masks can be worn by participants.

“If organizers evaluate an event using the six indicators and consider it as high risk, we suggest that they postpone or cancel the event,” Chen said.

Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), head of the center, said that as there are various types of public gatherings, policies have been introduced to gradually reduce them so that people can slowly acclimate to changes in their lifestyles.

“When asked if weddings can still be held, I say: ‘Of course you can get married, because it is only two people,’” Chen Shih-chung said. “However, if you want to hold a large and crowded wedding ceremony, then we do not recommend it [at this time].”

Only “soft” policies advising people to take extra precautionary measures have been implemented, in preparation for the possibility that the COVID-19 situation worsens and “hard” policies have to be enacted, he said.

Chen Tsung-yen said 101 nightclubs, bars and karaoke clubs nationwide have been temporarily closed. Ninety-one did so voluntarily and 10 were ordered by the Taichung City Government to shut.

Chen Shih-chung said that 19 imported cases of COVID-19 were confirmed yesterday, seven men and 12 women who have all recently returned from abroad, most of whom (18) are aged 10 to 40.

Four of the new cases are part of a cluster of students from the same school in the UK who returned to Taiwan together on Sunday; one was a member of a group tour to Egypt, of which nine members and the child of one member have been infected; and another case is a woman who studied in the UK and returned on Saturday last week with a previously confirmed case, he said.

Seven of the new cases were tested at airports upon arriving in Taiwan, 10 were tested while in home quarantine, one while in home isolation and one tested positive after seeking medical treatment, he added.

“Nine of the new cases had returned from the UK and six from the US,” Chen Shih-chung said, adding that the large number of confirmed cases from Britain was due to the two clusters.

Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) said that as a nurse at a long-term care center on Saturday tested positive for the coronavirus, the center has revised regulations for disease prevention and control at healthcare and long-term care facilities.

“The center’s specialists decided to expand testing criteria to include medical professionals and workers at long-term care facilities. If they experience a fever or respiratory symptoms and a physician suspects a COVID-19 infection, they can be tested for the coronavirus,” he said.

“They would be allowed to return to work after they test negative twice [at least 24 hours apart], do not have a fever for 24 hours and if a physician certifies that their respiratory symptoms have abated,” Hsueh said, adding that such people would not be placed in 14-day home quarantine to prevent a shortage of medical personnel and caregivers.

However, the occupation of medical professionals and long-term care facility workers would be marked in the National Health Insurance database so that attending physicians are more cautious and consider the expanded testing criteria, he said.

Affected personnel include medical professionals and social workers at hospitals; nursing assistants, workers and residents of long-term care facilities, nursing homes and veterans’ homes; and workers at children and youth welfare institutes, and post-partum care centers.

Facilities would also be required to establish regulations on prohibiting visitors; mandating self-health monitoring by workers and residents; asking workers with respiratory symptoms to take sick leave; and banning employees from working if they have a temperature of at least 38°C measured by an ear thermometer, Hsueh said.


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A few days ago, I received the government’s “Recommendations for appropriate COVID-19 [Wuhan pneumonia] epidemic prevention activities in the home, community, neighborhood long-term care centers, community care centers and dementia centers.”

The recommendations asked the centers to train staff members on how to gain an understanding of the outbreak’s status, how to determine whether people are infected, and how to promote awareness about respiratory health and vaccinations.

What the government does not understand is that the centers do not have the capability to offer specialist training to staff members.

Most of the centers have been set up by community development associations and village offices, and they are run by borough wardens or community association leaders.

They are closely integrated with their local community, but they have no mastery of health policy-related medical expertise, so how could they organize disease-prevention training and health training?

The disease-prevention recommendations are not matched with any supervisory regulations, nor are there any prevention standards to follow.

The recommendation makes no mention of site security, staff training content or coronavirus awareness that the centers must possess, nor does the government provide any official prevention training materials.

The government’s belief that the centers can handle prevention issues seems overly optimistic, but a place where dozens of elderly people come and go every day must not ignore the potential of community infection.

There must be no loopholes in community prevention work.

Many old people gather in community concern centers and C-level neighborhood long-term care centers, which is another focus for disease prevention. The central government has so far issued no guidance on whether the centers should remain open, so the decision is in the hands of local governments.

In this situation, greater attention should be given to providing training to staff at the centers. The government should provide teaching materials on disease prevention and organize training.

If there is a shortage of time or trainers, local medical organizations could help organize prevention training.

Disease prevention at the centers must be integrated with community and health policy so that medical expertise can be brought in and make up for any lack of disease-prevention knowledge at the centers.

This is the only way to provide our elderly citizens with a safe environment.

Du Ying-chun is an attending physician at Dr Lin’s Holistic Chinese Medical Clinic and principal of Sun Bamboo Forest Community Care Center.

Translated by Perry Svensson

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title: Community care centers need help


content_text:
Sixty-four migrants from Ethiopia were found dead on Tuesday, crammed inside a freight container in northwestern Mozambique, a senior hospital official said.

The victims were discovered in a blue cargo container loaded on a truck. They were surrounded by survivors in temperatures of about 34°C.

“A truck transporting illegal immigrants from Malawi, suspected to be Ethiopians, was stopped at the Mussacana weight bridge in Tete [Province] and 64 people were found dead. Only 14 survived,” said the official, who asked not be named as he did not have the authority to speak to the media.

Some of the surviving 14 immigrants who were found in a container transported on a truck get some rest in Tete Province, Mozambique, on Tuesday.
 Photo: EPA-EFE

“The cause of death is presumed to be asphyxiation,” the official added.

A picture showed survivors sitting surrounded by corpses.

Another showed hospital workers with white plastic aprons and blue masks preparing to offer first aid to the survivors, and offload the bodies.

The bodies were taken to a local morgue.

Spokesman Filmao Suaze said that the Mozambique government, in conjunction with the Ethiopian embassy in Maputo, had launched an “investigation to bring the responsible to justice.”

Provincial immigration spokesman Amelia Direito told reporters in Tete Province that all the 78 people aboard were Ethiopian men, of whom 64 suffocated to death.

“The truck driver and his assistant [both Mozambicans] have been arrested by the police,” Direito said.

The driver told police that he had been promised 30,000 meticais (US$451) to transport the men, she said.

Police have launched a manhunt for “the intermediary who facilitated the illegal entry of the Ethiopians into the country,” she added.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it had “confirmed through the Ethiopian embassy in South Africa that many Ethiopians traveling inside a vehicle from Malawi to Mozambique have died.”

The embassy said that it was working to establish the numbers of the dead and their identities.

“The ministry expresses deep sadness at the tragedy, and extends a message of strength to the family and friends of the deceased,” it said.

The International Organization for Migration said that the 14 survivors were being treated for severe dehydration and exhaustion.

Mozambique is seen as a smuggling corridor for migrants seeking to make their way to South Africa.

South Africa — the continent’s most industrialized nation — is a magnet for poor migrants not only from neighboring nations such as Lesotho and Zimbabwe, but even nations further afield, such as Ethiopia.

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title: Sixty-four die in freight container


content_text:
Virus Outbreak: Prince Charles tests positive; parliament may be shut

Britain’s Prince Charles, the eldest son and heir to Queen Elizabeth II, is showing mild symptoms of COVID-19, but “otherwise remains in good health,” his office said yesterday.

The 71-year-old and his wife, Camilla, who does not have coronavirus, are currently self-isolating in Scotland, Clarence House said.

“The Prince of Wales has tested positive for coronavirus,” it said in a statement, using his official title. “He has been displaying mild symptoms, but otherwise remains in good health and has been working from home throughout the last few days as usual.”

A pedestrian takes a picture of the Millennium Bridge and St Paul’s Cathedral in London on Tuesday.
 Photo: Bloomberg

“The Duchess of Cornwall [Camilla] has also been tested, but does not have the virus,” it said. “In accordance with government and medical advice, the prince and the duchess are now self-isolating at home in Scotland.”

The couple were tested by the National Health Service (NHS) in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, it said.

“It is not possible to ascertain from whom the prince caught the virus owing to the high number of engagements he carried out in his public role during recent weeks,” the office added.

Meanwhile, the British government was planning to shut down Parliament for four weeks from last night in the latest attempt to slow the spread of coronavirus.

The UK outbreak is most advanced in London and several politicians have fallen ill, including a health minister.

Parliament had been scheduled to break for Easter on Tuesday next week, but the House of Commons was to close yesterday if — as expected — lawmakers voted for the move, British officials said.

The Commons would reopen on April 21, they said.

The UK’s decision puts it ahead of other countries’ parliaments. While Italy, Germany and Spain have distancing measures in place and only allow limited numbers into their main debating chambers, they have stopped short of closing parliaments altogether.

The move to shut parliament follows British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to put the UK on lockdown, ordering people to stay at home unless essential for work, closing schools, restaurants and shops, and banning public gatherings.

However, Johnson’s strategy has been called into question, with some critics saying it does not go far enough.

Construction workers have been going to work on project sites as normal and packed London Underground trains prompted concerns that passengers would be spreading the disease.

Johnson has also faced calls for an urgent acceleration in the program of testing people for the virus.

The government said that it is acceptable for construction work to continue, if workers stand at least 2m apart to reduce the risk of contagion.

“If you can work from home you must do so. If you can’t work from home then you can go into work,” British Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick told the BBC’s Breakfast program yesterday. “A number of employers have concluded that they can’t follow the Public Health England guidance and have chosen to shut down their sites.”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said early data showed passenger numbers on the Underground had fallen significantly — down one-third on Tuesday’s levels.

He said tube passenger numbers were already 88 percent down yesterday compared with the same day last year and bus ridership was 76 percent lower.

“However, we still need more Londoners to do the right thing and stay at home,” Khan said.

Almost one-third of London transport staff are sick or self-isolating, he added.

In other news, about 170,000 people signed up within hours of a British government call for volunteers to help those stuck at home due to the coronavirus outbreak, British Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock said yesterday.

Hancock on Monday unveiled a plan to create a 250,000-strong volunteer force to help deliver groceries and medicines to the most vulnerable people instructed by the government to self-isolate.

This is larger than Britain’s armed forces, which currently stand at just more than 192,000.

“We’re delighted that overnight 170,000 people have signed up to volunteer to support our NHS tackling coronavirus,” Hancock tweeted.


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Virus Outbreak: Minister mulls online vouchers to spur growth

Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) yesterday proposed issuing vouchers for use on e-commerce platforms to boost the nation’s economy.

“Domestic firms are facing a downturn in business due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as consumers have been avoiding going out and have [subsequently] reduced shopping [activities],” Shen told reporters following a meeting with local businesses, while suggesting stimulating the market through the vouchers.

Emphasizing that discussions on the matter are still at a preliminary stage, Shen said that the Ministry of Economic Affairs could subsidize the issuance of 20 to 25 percent vouchers by e-commerce platforms.

As a precaution against COVID-19, Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin keeps his distance from reporters during a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
 Photo: Huang Pei-chun, Taipei Times

Unlike the ministry’s previously announced stimulus coupons, which are to be issued six to 12 months after the virus crisis abates, Shen said that the online vouchers could be issued earlier and be funded by a NT$40 billion (US$1.32 billion) budget proposed by the government.

The ministry said that it plans to spend up to NT$207.4 billion on public infrastructure projects by the end of this year.

While the ministry has striven to stimulate economic activity, domestic businesses, particularly those in the information and communications technology (ICT) industry, have been voicing growing concerns about overseas orders as the pandemic causes volatility on international markets.

“[Although] overall production has resumed in China ... ICT firms fear a potential decline, as order visibility remains very low for next quarter,” Shen said, but added that some companies have nevertheless benefited from transferred orders.

Another significant challenge for local firms is growing market competition from South Korea, he said, citing as an example depreciation of the South Korean won against the New Taiwan dollar.

Shen, who is on the central bank’s board of directors, promised to shed light on the matter.

The ministry has also been providing assistance by reducing utility rates and helping to negotiate more flexible work hours for the ICT industry’s foreign workers, he said.

“We also plan to delay rent payments for companies with manufacturing facilities in industrial parks for up to one year,” Shen said, adding that the policy would also apply to land leased from state-owned Taiwan Sugar Corp (台糖).

However, any delay in rent payments for facilities in science parks would be decided by the Ministry of Science and Technology, he added.

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content_text:
As you approach the city of Sobral in northeast Brazil, the road worsens. Huge potholes slow traffic to a crawl. The heat is suffocating, even worse when there is no cloud cover.

Sobral is poor. Jobs are scarce, salaries meager, with gangs the only option for many. For children, it is a tough start to life.

Ana Farias, headteacher of an early-years school in a low-income neighborhood controlled by a gang, knows this only too well.

Some of her students would not eat if it were not for free school meals.

Farias and her colleagues often hear stories of home life; some children have to accompany their mothers who sell sex at night.

“It’s a challenge, but it motivates me to be here every day. We want to make a difference in their lives,” she said.

This is one of the last places anyone would expect would be a paragon of educational excellence. Yet, Sobral has gone through an extraordinary metamorphosis and is now the best place in Brazil to get a state education.

The city comes top of 5,000 districts in Brazil’s education development index. Fifteen years ago, it was ranked 1,366th.

Since 2015, literacy rates have risen from 52 percent to 92 percent, and the number of families living in extreme poverty has declined by 89 percent.

This is a stunning turnaround in a country beset by income inequality and poor literacy rates: Half of state-educated students are still illiterate by the third grade.

So what has been Sobral’s secret to success?

“We have reached this position because this is a 23-year-old project that has surpassed changes in mayors and secretaries of education,” Sobral Mayor Ivo Gomes said.

“People think it’s magic and it’s not. It is persistence and a lot of hard work,” he added.

In 1997, the movement to improve education in Sobral began with renovating school buildings and furnishing them with computers and other resources. Public spending on education was boosted.

In the past, politicians had commonly rewarded allies by handing out government jobs, including headteacher posts to people who could barely read or write. This practice was stamped out.

There was a crackdown on truancy; today families are called if their children do not turn up to school.

Newly qualified teachers now undergo a preparatory internship and all teachers, regardless of experience, receive on-the-job training for a day each month. Every term there is a bonus system for teachers whose students perform well in assessments.

Student welfare is a high priority; pupils receive two free school meals a day and there are plans to hire a mental health professional in each school.

All this has led in part to the success of former students such as Chelton Santos, 22, and his sister Maria Santos, 20.

The siblings live with their parents and grandmother in a poor and dangerous area. The family have survived on one minimum wage — now US$258 a month — for many years.

“I grew up seeing gang fights,” Chelton Santos said. “I had to face poverty and violence. My parents took good care of us, but we had financial difficulties and had to take out loans.”

Despite a difficult upbringing for the pair, the future is looking bright: Chelton Santos is studying law at university and his sister is working as an office clerk to save money to study medicine. They are determined to succeed.

“My dream is to be a doctor. I’m going to get there. I’ve seen my mother suffer with health problems since I was a child and now I want to help the poorest in society,” Maria Santos said.

Sobral’s success is now being replicated across the country.

Former Sobral mayor Clodoveu Arruda, who oversaw a large part of the transformation in the education department, has teamed up with the Lemann Foundation to spread best practice.

So far they have worked in 25 municipalities across five states.

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title: One of Brazil’s poorest cities has its best school results


content_text:
ON THE LOOKOUT:
 A Lockheed EP-3 reconnaissance plane was yesterday seen flying southwest of Kaohsiung, according to Twitter account ‘Aircraft Spots’

By Aaron Tu
and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer

A Twitter account that tracks military aircraft movements has indicated an increase in US military activity near Taiwan, coinciding with an increase in Chinese military activity in the area.

Planes from the US Seventh Fleet have been sighted frequently above the South China Sea in the past several days, and a US Navy EP-3 reconnaissance plane was seen flying close to Taiwanese airspace southwest of Kaohsiung yesterday, according to posts by the Twitter account Aircraft Spots.

The EP-3 was seen circling above the same area, Aircraft Spots said, adding that other planes from the fleet were seen in the past few days near the Philippines, where they appeared to be gathering information on Chinese vessels in the area.

A map displayed on the Aircraft Spots Twitter timeline yesterday shows the path followed by a US reconnaissance aircraft southwest of Taiwan.
 Image from the Aircaft Spots Twitter account

The Ministry of National Defense said that its surveillance network is capable of monitoring the seas near Taiwan and that it always monitors the movements of aircraft and vessels near the nation’s territory.

Aircraft from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force have been spotted near Taiwan on four occasions in the past six weeks — Feb. 9, 10 and 28, and March 16.

The most recent sighting was the first time a Chinese military aircraft had approached Taiwan at night during a drill.

Following the Chinese drills on Feb. 10, a US MC-130J Commando II transport aircraft and two B-52 bombers flew over waters west and east of Taiwan.

The US last month also flew P-3 Orion maritime surveillance aircraft over waters south of Taiwan, and on Feb. 16 sailed a warship through the Taiwan Strait.

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title: US military aircraft activity near Taiwan increasing


references: Facebook Twitter

content_text:
Virus Outbreak: Coronavirus weighs on Facebook advertising sales

Facebook Inc on Tuesday said that the COVID-19 outbreak was undercutting sales of the advertising that accounts for nearly all of its revenue, even as more users spend time on the social network during virus-related lockdowns.

“We don’t monetize many of the services where we’re seeing increased engagement, and we’ve seen a weakening in our ads business in countries taking aggressive actions to reduce the spread of COVID-19,” the company said in a statement.

Facebook shares fell about 1 percent after hours following an 8.7 percent rise in regular trade.

Don Giovanni Banchio streams Sunday Mass on Facebook from a chapel at the San Giovanni Bosco Oratory in Saluzzo, Italy, on Sunday.
 Photo: AFP

The company said messaging across its platforms had increased more than 50 percent over the past month in many of the worst-affected countries.

In Italy specifically, users have been spending 70 percent more time in its apps.

Group calling with three or more participants increased by more than 1,000 percent in Italy in the past month, it said.

Online voice and video calls at Facebook-owned Messenger and WhatsApp have more than doubled in places hit hard by the coronavirus, according to a post by vice president of analytics Alex Schultz and Jay Parikh, vice president of engineering.

“As the pandemic expands and more people practice physically distancing themselves from one another, this has also meant that many more people are using our apps,” Parikh and Schultz said.

Much of the increased use has been at Facebook’s free messaging services, which do not generate ad revenue, the executives said.

“We don’t monetize many of the services where we’re seeing increased engagement, and we’ve seen a weakening in our ads business in countries taking aggressive actions to reduce the spread of COVID-19,” they said.

Soaring use at Facebook’s “family” of services and across the Internet industry have been unprecedented, they added.

Facebook declined a request for comment on precisely which of its markets were experiencing adverse business impact or the magnitude of that impact.

The company’s statement echoed similar industry guidance the day before from Twitter Inc, which reported a boost in active users, but pulled its first-quarter revenue outlook and forecast an operating loss due to the outbreak.

Many advertisers have pulled marketing budgets to rein in costs because of virus-related uncertainty.

Some are also apparently hesitant to advertise alongside coronavirus discussions for fear of associating their brands with the sensitive topic.

Additional reporting by AFP

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content_text:
Virus Outbreak: Authorities fine three for breaching home quarantine

MISINFORMATION:
 An advocate against pension reform was summoned
for alleging that a woman died trying to make it to a line for purchasing masks

Authorities in central Taiwan yesterday fined three people for breaching their home quarantine.

Police in Changhua County’s Yuanlin City (員林) questioned a man, surnamed Chen (陳), and his wife, surnamed Hsieh (謝), for contravening their 14-day home quarantine after returning from Europe.

Police said they were tipped off by residents, who saw the couple outdoors. With the help of street surveillance cameras, they were able track the duo down. They found that Chen had driven a car to work, while Hsieh said she went out to buy medical supplies at a drugstore.

“The couple returned to Taiwan from Europe the previous week and, as ordered by health authorities, they were to stay home for 14 days to prevent the spread of the Wuhan virus,” Yuanlin Police Precinct Chief Hung Wen-hung (洪文宏) told reporters.

Hung said the couple was fined NT$300,000 (US$9,893) each for breaching the Special Act on COVID-19 Prevention, Relief and Recovery (特殊傳染性肺炎防治及紓困振興特別條例規定).

People under quarantine should ask relatives or friends for assistance and delivery of essential goods, he added.

In Chiayi, police caught a quarantine breaker by accident at a traffic stop.

Police noticed a man on a motorcycle while he was waiting for the lights to change because his helmet was not fastened.

They approached the man, surnamed Lee (李), and while checking his identity, found that he had breached his home quarantine after returning from Malaysia.

Lee could be fined up to NT$1 million for breaking quarantine, they said.

In New Taipei City, prosecutors summoned Harry Lee (李來希), head of the Alliance for Monitoring Pension Reform, to appear in court on Monday next week for allegedly spreading misinformation on Facebook.

Harry Lee, known for his vocal opposition to the government’s pension reform measures, had posted a photograph of a fatal accident on March 13 in which a female motorist was killed by a truck on a street in Hsinchu City.

The motorist “was run over and died, because she was going to wait in line to buy medical masks,” Harry Lee wrote on Facebook.

Ministry of Justice officials said that an investigation showed the motorist was killed when she was trying to change to an inside lane because of an illegally parked van.

The incident had nothing to do with lining up to buy masks, they said.

The Criminal Investigation Bureau also received complaints about Harry Lee’s post and after reviewing the evidence, sent him a notice to appear at the bureau to answer questions about the complaint.

After Harry Lee ignored the notice, New Taipei City prosecutors issued a summons for him to appear in court for allegedly spreading misinformation about the pandemic.

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content_text:
When two Spanish soccer players took to the controls of FIFA 20 after the COVID-19 pandemic saw their La Liga match canceled, a stadium-sized virtual audience watched online.

The huge digital crowd last week is part of a spectacular boom for the digital gaming industry, as record numbers flock to online servers for distraction, entertainment and friendship with the “real world” seemingly falling apart.

Real Betis Balompie striker Borja Iglesias kicked the winning goal using his own digital likeness in the 6-5 battle against Sevilla, which was broadcast on popular video game streaming platform Twitch.

Evan Smith, 12, plays online video games with his friend Alex White, 12, while communicating via FaceTime in Ouston, England, on Tuesday.
 Photo: Reuters

It took place at the same time the original derby had been scheduled, before Spain’s premier tournament was postponed as part of containment measures that have also seen the country’s 46 million people largely confined to their homes.

“We do all of this to entertain all of you, so that you can be at home enjoying it, insofar as it is possible with this epidemic,” the host of the broadcast told his audience of 60,000.

Nearly every nation has reported cases of COVID-19 infection, with frantic efforts to contain the disease prompting the near total shutdown of some of the world’s biggest cities.

Online gaming has proved a welcome diversion for many people chafing at movement restrictions, the cancelation of countless public events and a relentless onslaught of news about the pandemic.

“It made me feel less depressed about being in a small space for a long time,” said Yang An, who was last month ordered to quarantine for two weeks after returning to Shanghai from her hometown.

She told reporters that she passed the time by playing for up to eight hours a day on her Nintendo Switch handheld console.

Internet providers have scrambled to shore up their networks in the face of surging demand.

Gaming traffic on Verizon’s network shot up an “unprecedented” 75 percent in the space of a week, the US telecom has said.

Software companies have also rushed to accommodate a record number of users.

Rockstar Games, publisher of the Wild West-themed adventure title Red Dead Redemption, promised players that it would keep its online servers running smoothly after it told its global workforce to work from home.

The company also teased a rollout of extra in-game activities to keep housebound players glued to their controllers.

Online gaming communities could “go some of the way to create the public space that’s been lost” in the wake of the pandemic, said Christian McCrea, a media studies lecturer specializing in games at Australia’s Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.

He pointed to Pokemon Go — a smartphone game that became a worldwide phenomenon in 2016 when it lured millions of people onto the streets for a virtual monster hunt — which was this month tweaked by its developer to make it easier for users to play at home.

Gaming habits were likely to see a massive transformation in the months ahead, with the prospect of further economic ructions and long stretches of social isolation looming on the horizon, McCrea said.

“Overall the big impact will be younger kids at home for months on end with parents out of work,” he told reporters. “Games will be at the center of a lot of their spare time.”

Video games have long been blamed for a causing a suite of health issues, from repetitive strain injuries to eyesight problems.

The WHO classified gaming addiction as an illness in 2018, the same year that China launched a crackdown on the industry due to concerns that youngsters were spending too much time online.

However, veteran gamers now ironically appear among those best-placed to navigate the pandemic and its effects on everyday life.

Twitch streamer “Loeya” last week told her 1 million-plus fans in a broadcast that travel restrictions and school closures in her native Sweden and elsewhere were unlikely to alter her own mostly indoors, game-heavy schedule.

“Technically I self-quarantined myself, like, three years ago,” the 22-year-old said jokingly.

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title: Online gaming thrives as virus keeps people at home


content_text:
Virus Outbreak: Taipei quarantine breaker found, fined NT$1 million

A Taipei resident who had breached his home quarantine order was found on Tuesday night in an Internet cafe and fined NT$1 million (US$32,976), Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) said yesterday, as the Taipei City Government announced a short-term COVID-19 relief plan.

Huang on Tuesday afternoon publicized the name of the man, Chen Tse (陳冊), who on Saturday last week returned from Beijing and was ordered to undergo 14-day home quarantine.

However, city monitoring officials were unable to contact him by mobile phone or at his home.

Taipei resident Chen Tse wears protective clothing on Tuesday night after police found him at an Internet cafe. He was supposed to be quarantined at home after traveling from Beijing.
 Photo: Liu Ching-hou, Taipei Times, from a police photograph

Chen was found by police at an Internet cafe on Nanyang Street, Huang said yesterday, adding that he had not returned to his home, but rather had been at the cybercafe since returning to Taiwan.

After locating Chen, police immediately asked him to don full protective clothing and took him to Taipei City Hospital’s Heping branch to be tested for the coronavirus, she said.

The city government would ask if he could be admitted to the central government’s centralized quarantine center if he tests negative, she added.

“The Taipei Department of Health is to impose the heaviest fine of NT$1 million for breaching his home quarantine order for more than 72 hours,” Huang said, urging people not to defy such orders, as breaking quarantine could not only cause harm to themselves, but also other people.

As the number of people placed in home isolation or quarantine has increased rapidly, borough wardens and city officials are overworked, she said.

The central government should allow local governments to recruit volunteers to help provide care for people in home isolation or quarantine, Huang said, adding that it should also consider giving officials and volunteers special subsidies.

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said that as the COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant negative economic effects, the city government has drafted a short-term relief plan to help prevent businesses from closing, which would cause a wave of unemployment.

The plan is comprised of six main measures: delaying tax payments; cutting water prices; reducing rent for city government-owned properties; rolling back interest rates at Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank and public pawnshops; and lowering house and entertainment taxes, he said.

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people: 柯文哲 黃珊珊


people: 許淑華 吳建德

title: Taipei Dome restart a step closer after conditional approval

content_text:
By Tsai Ya-hua and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

A Taipei environmental impact assessment committee yesterday conditionally approved Farglory Group’s comparative environmental impact analysis for the Taipei Dome project, but demanded that the company submit all additional paperwork within a month.

Construction of the Taipei Dome was halted in 2015, with the Taipei City Government citing Farglory’s failure to follow the construction blueprints.

City councilors and borough wardens attending yesterday’s review called on Farglory to address issues that had led to the postponement of a first review on Feb. 7.

A Taipei environmental impact assessment committee yesterday examines Farglory Group’s comparative environmental impact analysis for the Taipei Dome.
 Photo: Tsai Ya-hua, Taipei Times

The committee should look into Farglory’s plans for an underground parking exit on Guangfu S Road, as it would worsen traffic congestion, Taipei City Councilor Chien Shu-pei (簡舒培) said, adding that there was a question of liability in the event of an accident.

Farglory has yet to confirm that its new design for the dome — which is reflecting light and affecting students at Guangfu Elementary School — would not be malodorous or harmful, Taipei City Councilor Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華) said.

Xinjen Borough (新仁) Warden Wu Chien-te (吳建德) blamed the project for the decreasing water level at a “mosquito-infested” ecological pool at the Songshan Tobacco Factory and criticized Farglory’s traffic-improvement plans.

Farglory’s plan to widen Guangfu S Road aims to free up space for its own shuttle buses to park at the dome and its shopping mall, which would worsen congestion in the area, Wu said.

Farglory should abide by the original plan’s “green cover” ratio, and make efforts to address the light pollution, traffic and ecological issues, the committee said.

The company would abide by the committee’s decisions and tender all the required information within the allotted time frame, Farglory spokesman Jacky Yang (楊舜欽) said.

The company estimates that the conclusion of construction would take another one-and-a-half years, he said.

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content_text:
JOINT EFFORT:
 Taiwan Mobile has been asked to supply supplementary information on its plan, as it has proposed a partnership with Asia Pacific Telecom

The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that it has approved 5G business plans submitted by Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) and Far Eastone Telecommunications (FET), which both aim to launch 5G services in the third quarter of this year.

The nation’s five telecoms have all paid for bids they placed in the first 5G spectrum auction, which ended last month, with the proceeds totaling NT$142.19 billion (US$4.69 billion), NCC spokesman Hsiao Chi-hung (蕭祈宏) said.

Each telecom is required to submit a business plan for its 5G services, he said.

To conduct a preliminary review of the business plans, the commission said that it has formed an independent committee of 11 experts, whose expertise range from communications technology and consumer protection to accounting and economics.

The results have been submitted to commissioners for a second review, it said.

CHT and FET have indicated in their business plans that they aim to launch 5G services as a non-standalone system, meaning that they are building their 5G networks on the framework of their existing 4G systems, Hsiao said.

They also aim to migrate to all-5G services, or a standalone system, with the time required to reach that stage depending on how fast the technology and market evolve, he said.

Industry observers have forecast that all-5G services would not emerge for three to five years after deployment, he added.

The two telecoms’ business plans show that they aim to develop their services using the 3.5 gigahertz and 28 gigahertz frequency bands; outline their service coverage rate in the next five years; and identify differences between 4G and 5G services fees, as well as data protection measures, the NCC said.

Commissioners are next week scheduled to review the 5G business plan submitted by Taiwan Mobile, which has been asked to supply supplementary information, as it has proposed a partnership with Asia Pacific Telecom, Hsiao said.

The commission has received Taiwan Star’s business plan and is reviewing it, he said.

The telecoms must also submit their plans to ensure information security, which must be approved by the commission before they can secure permits to construct 5G infrastructure, he added.

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title: CHT, FET 5G business plans approved by NCC


title: Wistron upbeat despite pause in India

content_text:
‘STAY CONNECTED’:
 Chairman Simon Lin dismissed the pandemic as a short-term issue and forecast a small increase in the firm’s top line and profit margin this year

Wistron Corp (緯創), one of Apple Inc’s iPhone assemblers, yesterday said it was upbeat regarding business this year, despite production being halted in India due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are under a big threat of course, regarding the coronavirus outbreak, as we encountered a factory shutdown as well as material shortages from the supply chain [in China] … but we believe this is a short-term issue,” Wistron chairman Simon Lin (林憲銘) told investors at an earnings conference in Taipei.

He forecast a small annual increase in the company’s top line this year, as well as an increase in its profit margin.

The company has a strong foothold in market segments, such as PCs, server storage, smartphones and other smart devices, which are least expected to suffer under the wide-spread pandemic, Lin said.

“Even under a lockdown, we still need [these] tools to stay connected … we will see a quick ramp-up in market demand” after the virus is contained, Lin said, predicting a rebound in sales by the third quarter of this year.

However, sales next quarter are expected to decline, as demand for desktops slips amid an economic slowdown, Lin said.

“We are now shifting our focus from consumer products toward commercial [enterprise] products, as they would be less affected” by market volatility, Lin said, adding that Wistron is prioritizing the production of commercial laptops due to growing demand.

Meanwhile, the company’s server business segment continues to bring in healthy sales as demand from enterprise clients remains robust, Lin said, adding that Wistron is planning to expand its server plant in Mexico within nine months.

Intent on expanding production beyond China, Wistron has nearly doubled capital expenditure from about US$265 million last year to US$550 million this year with another US$450 million to US$500 million planned for next year.

This would be the biggest expenditure in 10 years, Lin said, adding that sales from “outside of China would contribute 20 to 25 percent this year and about 50 percent next year.”

Wistron’s board of directors proposed to increase investments in India from US$36 million to US$76 million.

The company’s Indian plants, which make older iPhone models, are shut down until April 14 due to New Delhi’s efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海), which also manufactures iPhones in India, has similarly shut down operations in the country for the next three weeks.

Wistron on Tuesday posted a 38.56 percent surge in net profit to NT$6.8 billion (US$224.24 million) for last year, translating into earnings per share of NT$2.4.

Its board has proposed distributing a cash dividend of NT$2 per common share, for a payout ratio of 83.33 percent.

Wistron yesterday launched a share buyback plan to buy up to 60 million shares until May 24.

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content_text:
Disposable rubber gloves are indispensable in the global fight against COVID-19, but a month’s lockdown in Malaysia, where three of every five gloves are made, has upended the supply chain and threatens to hamstring hospitals worldwide.

Top Glove Corp Bhd, the world’s biggest maker of medical gloves by volume, has the capacity to make 200 million gloves a day, but a supplier shutdown has left it with only two weeks’ worth of boxes to ship them in, its founder said.

“We can’t get our gloves to hospitals without cartons,” executive chairman Lim Wee Chai (林偉財) said in an interview. “Hospitals need our gloves. We can’t just supply 50 percent of their requirement.”

A worker monitors a production line at a Top Glove factory in Meru outside Kuala Lumpur on June 25, 2009.
 Photo: Reuters

The virus, which emerged in China at the end of last year, has left Malaysia with the highest number of infections in Southeast Asia at nearly 1,800 cases, with 19 deaths. To halt transmission, the government has ordered people to stay home from Wednesday last week to April 14.

Glove makers and others eligible for exemption can operate half-staffed provided they meet strict safety conditions.

Still, the Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association said it was lobbying “almost every hour” to return the industry to full strength to minimize risk to the global fight.

“We’re shut down,” said Evonna Lim, managing director at packaging supplier Etheos Imprint Technology Sdn Bhd. “We fall under an exempted category, but still need approval.”

Celine Gounder, an infectious diseases specialist at the New York University School of Medicine, said she was using up to six times as many gloves as normal each day due to the number of patients with COVID-19.

“If we get to the point where there is a shortage of gloves, that’s going to be a huge problem because then we cannot draw blood safely, we cannot do many medical procedures safely,” she said.

With glove supplies dwindling, the US Food and Drug Administration on its Web site this month said some gloves could be used beyond their designated shelf life.

The US on Tuesday lifted a ban on imports from Malaysian glove maker WRP Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd, which it had previously accused of using forced labor.

The UK Department of Health and Social Care has urged Malaysian authorities to prioritize the production and shipment of gloves that are of “utmost criticality for fighting COVID-19,” it said in a letter from Thursday last week to glove maker Supermax Corp.

The glove manufacturing association is considering rationing due to the “extremely high demand,” president Denis Low (劉昭甫) said.

“You can produce as many gloves as you can, but then there’s nothing to pack them into,” he said.

Under normal circumstances, Top Glove can meet less than 40 percent of its own packaging needs. For the remainder, it said just 23 percent of suppliers have gained approval to operate at half strength.

“We are lobbying almost every hour, we are putting in a lot of letters to the ministry,” Low said. “We are lobbying hard for the chemical suppliers and we want to ensure that the printers are also being given approval and any other supporting services, even transportation.”

The Malaysian Ministry of International Trade and Industry on Tuesday said it had received masses of applications to operate through the lockdown, and that it was seeking cooperation from industries to give way to those producing essential goods.

Developed economies are home to only one-fifth of the world’s population yet account for nearly 70 percent of medical glove demand due to stringent medical standards. At 150, US glove consumption per capita is 20 times that of China, the latest association data showed.

The group expects demand to jump 16 percent to 345 billion gloves this year, with Malaysia’s market share rising 2 percentage points to 65 percent. Thailand usually follows at about 18 percent and China at 9 percent.

Top Glove said orders have doubled since last month and it sees sales rising by one-fifth in the next six months.

Its stock, with a market value of about US$3.5 billion, has risen by one-third this year versus a fall of 16 percent in the wider market.

With more than 80 percent of its 44 factories worldwide automated, Top Glove is less impacted by the lockdown than its domestic suppliers with higher labor requirements.

Packaging woes aside, ramping up production could turn an undersupply into an oversupply when the coronavirus outbreak finally subsides.

“This outbreak will create awareness and make humankind healthier,” Lim said. “People will pay more attention, they will invest more, they will buy more so demand will be more.”

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title: Virus Outbreak: Glove capital struggles in lockdown


content_text:
Although concerned over the impact of many citizens returning from Europe and the US while those nations cope with soaring COVID-19 infection rates, Taiwan has handled the pandemic with alacrity and seems to be successfully managing the process compared with many others, including European nations and the US.

Despite its proximity to China, by March 3, Taiwan had only 42 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and one death, while Japan had 287 cases and six deaths and South Korea had 4,812 cases and 28 deaths.

This is of considerable interest internationally because Taiwan is not only located near China, but is relatively densely populated and is an outstanding democracy that seeks to uphold the freedoms of its citizens.

As the coronavirus runs its course through nation after nation, foreign governments and health authorities would benefit from an examination of the case of Taiwan, as its government plans its next tactics.

Taiwan proficiently limited the original entry of the coronavirus from China, an achievement emphasized by former Department of Health director general Lee Ming-liang (李明亮).

Having learned lessons from the 2003 SARS outbreak, the government promptly adopted border controls and issued travel advisories tiered according to the outbreak level in each nation. Early testing was required and approvals were suspended for many visa categories.

Seeking to contain and control the virus, the government initiated a clear protocol for tracing those who had come into contact with infected people: identify, trace and follow up with those infected or suspected of being infected. This method has generally limited the spread of COVID-19 to an infected person’s family members, and slowed or limited any spread in communities.

Although Taiwan has a low number of medical personnel for the size of its population and a shortage of hospital beds for quarantined patients, the consequences of the shortfalls have been limited.

While Taiwanese officials should rightly be applauded for their astute, firm management, the nation’s populace should also be lauded, because the key in Taiwan has been the rapport between the government and the populace.

Despite some of the considerable financial inducements being offered in the UK and the US, cooperation cannot be bought. Governments that rely on fear to gain compliance might only end up inducing hysteria and paralysis.

Controlling the virus requires not only government planning, but also citizen responsiveness — and this is where Taiwan has shown national advantages in the face of potential disaster.

The first advantage stems, perhaps peculiarly, from Taiwan’s modern history, beginning with a terrible and unsettling period of Japanese colonialization (1895-1945) and continuing with a long period of martial law and the White Terror era of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) authoritarian regime (1949-1987).

Taiwanese know about emergencies, dire circumstances and the threat of having civil society break down. They can adapt and react creatively — an immeasurable advantage that other nations might lack to a similar extent.

Second, being an island, Taiwan is surrounded by an effective physical frontier, reducing the chance that the virus could be reintroduced from an external source.

The nation has excellent border controls and can oversee the movement of foreigners through its airports and ports. This is in real contrast to European nations, whose multiple open borders frustrate attempts to control their physical and political frontiers.

Third, Taiwan has an economic structure that gives great importance to family-based businesses and small enterprises, which is a far less measurable advantage, but of fundamental importance.

These businesses form sound local communities, while robust communities foster a strong sense of civic responsibility. Burdens are shared within neighborhoods, without becoming a major cost to the central government.

Although agriculture provides only 2 percent of Taiwan’s GDP, comparable with developed Western nations, more rural areas of Taiwan are commonly places of workshops, fields and rice paddies, and small townships and villages, forming a virtual frontier where local populations become more dispersed and places rely more on self-help and family-provided food.

Fourth, Taiwan has an adaptable healthcare system in major cities, where general practitioners of both Western and Chinese medicine provide a broader range of services than can be found in the West.

In brief, relatively small medical clinics typically act as hospitals, in that they have beds to care for patients overnight and can provide X-ray and scanning in their facilities.

This relieves some of the pressure on overcrowded hospitals in large urban areas, which is a great advantage during the coronavirus pandemic.

These features of Taiwan take on great importance when compared with the situation in Italy. The epicenter of the outbreak in Italy is Lombardy and the north, which border other nations and are heavily congested with manufacturing.

The outbreak in the US is certainly bound to worsen, and this is not helped by the nation’s two extensive border areas, which are highly populated and almost uncontrollable, nor is it helped by Americans’ aggressive individualism, which could jeopardize attempts by the government to move, isolate or control the population.

Healthcare in the US does not begin to rival the community-based care in Taiwan. About 17 percent of the US’ GDP is spent on health services — compared with about 10 percent in the UK, 11 percent in Japan and Germany — but it fails to provide adequate medical care to millions of urban poor.

In the mind of US officials, caring for people’s welfare might get confused with fears of an economic recession — a perceived quandary that will dull reaction times and possibly trigger negative effects, especially in the tense relations between the central government and the individual states — as shown in the confusion sparked by US President Donald Trump’s public statements.

European nations have yet to show whether they are capable of managing the virus as efficiently as the democratic flexibility of Taiwan.

While China succeeded on many levels because authorities could enforce compliance, Taiwan appears to be managing the virus effectively by relying on the natural choices of its civilian population.

Although this has been helped by early and clear governmental direction and by fortunate physical and economic circumstances, these factors were probably of lesser importance than the flexibility and responsiveness of Taiwanese institutions, communities and families.

Ian Inkster is a professorial research associate at the Centre of Taiwan Studies, SOAS, University of London; a senior fellow in the Taiwan Studies Program, China Policy Institute, University of Nottingham; and the editor of the international journal History of Technology.

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title: Taiwan’s coping can benefit all


content_text:
Virus Outbreak: Potential coronavirus drug granted rare disease status in US, sparking dispute

The pharmaceutical giant that makes a promising COVID-19 drug has registered it as a rare disease treatment with US regulators, a status that can potentially be worth millions in tax breaks and competition-free sales.

What that specialty status will actually mean for the marketing or profitability of Gilead Science Inc’s experimental drug remdesivir is not clear.

The drugmaker did not immediately respond on Tuesday to requests for comment.

Gilead Sciences Inc headquarters is pictured in Foster City, California, on Thursday.
 Photo: Bloomberg

Experts who have studied the so-called “orphan drug” program have said that the company’s request — and the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision to grant it — seem inappropriate given the rapidly expanding threat of the viral outbreak.

A financial analyst, though, called Gilead’s request “pretty standard.”

The FDA granted the status on Monday, according to the agency’s Web site.

If approved for coronavirus, Gilead Sciences would receive seven years of exclusive US marketing for the drug, and tax credits on its research and development costs.

The US Congress created the orphan drug program more than 35 years ago to encourage companies to develop drugs for niche diseases and conditions that might not otherwise be profitable.

However, since then, filing for orphan status has become a standard pharmaceutical industry tactic to extend the profitability of drugs and block competitors. Orphan drugs are also typically eligible for other special programs that speed up FDA reviews for approval.

The FDA defines a rare disease as one with fewer than 200,000 patients in the US.

In a statement on Tuesday, the agency said COVID-19 fit that criteria when the request was made.

There are more than 50,000 cases in the US, but many more expected in the coming weeks and months.

“It seems like a misuse of the Orphan Drug Act, even though technically it’s within the bounds of the law,” said Aaron Kesselheim, a Harvard Medical School health policy expert. “There’s no expectation here that this drug wouldn’t be able to generate appropriate revenue for the manufacturer.”

Kesselheim said a number of the early AIDS drugs also received orphan drug status in the 1980s and 1990s, but then went on to generate billions in sales.

However, Tyler Van Buren, a senior research analyst at the financial services firm Piper Sandler Cos, called Gilead’s filing “pretty standard.”

“It says nothing about profiting off of the pandemic, but it does provide protection if remdesivir turns into a business in subsequent years,” he said.

The orphan drug program has come under scrutiny from the media, Congress and government inspectors amid concerns that it is being misused to protect six-figure prices on specialty drugs.

About half of the 48 new drugs approved by the agency last year received orphan drug designation. Many were priced well above US$100,000 for a year’s supply, including drugs for cancer, muscular dystrophy and other genetic disorders.

The nonprofit Public Citizen group said in a statement that the US government should be “urgently concerned” with the affordability of remdesivir.

Gilead chairman and chief executive officer Daniel O’Day has previously said that the company has not discussed with any governments how much remdesivir will cost.

“The topic of pricing comes up once you know the medicine works,” he said.

Day earlier this month told a news conference with other drug industry executives that his company has been working on the drug’s development for a decade.

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content_text:
Virus Outbreak: Manufacturers scramble to meet ventilator demand

Manufacturers are on a mission to produce desperately needed medical ventilators for the COVID-19 pandemic, even if it means converting assembly lines now making auto parts.

Along with a shortage of masks and gloves, the spread of COVID-19 to almost every corner of the globe has highlighted a great need for specialized machines that help keep severely afflicted patients alive.

“As the global pandemic evolves, there is unprecedented demand for medical equipment, including ventilators,” GE Healthcare chief executive officer Kieran Murphy said.

An employee calibrates ventilators at the OES Medical Ltd plant in Witney, England, on Monday.
 Photo: EPA-EFE

The group has hired more workers and is making ventilators around the clock.

Swedish group Getinge AB is also ramping up output to meet what it called exponential growth in demand from around the world.

All the equipment that is normally used for demonstrations, training or trade fairs was immediately made available for clients, the company said in a statement.

French group Air Liquide SA has plans to raise its ventilator production from 500 a month to 1,100 next month.

Draeger Medical GmbH, a German medical tech giant, has said it has doubled the number of ventilators as well, while Loewenstein Medical Technology GmbH has a government order for 6,500 over the coming three months.

It had already begun to raise production last month owing to the strong demand from China.

The novel coronavirus pandemic has overwhelmed hospitals, where some intensive care units are already saturated and at risk of running out of essential equipment, French officials have said.

Earlier this month, the Italian association of anesthesiologists and intensive care unit personnel mulled an age limit for admissions.

World leaders have turned to industrial groups that have the know-how and capacity to help hospitals.

US President Donald Trump tweeted a “green light” to Ford Motor Co, General Motors Co and Tesla Inc to help boost ventilator production.

French automakers PSA Group, which owns Peugeot and Citroen, told reporters that it was looking “very seriously at the feasibility” of joining forces with companies that make the machines.

Innovations such as 3D printing might also be useful, and the Dutch company Ultimaker BV has put its printing centers, experts and designers at the disposal of hospitals.

“There is enormous demand” for help, chief executive officer Jos Burger told reporters, adding that the technology can be used to print valves for the ventilators.

In hard-hit eastern France, a workshop at the University of Belfort-Montbeliard is working, on an open collaboration basis, on a ventilator prototype.

“In a crisis situation, everything can help,” said Olivier Lamotte, an engineer and director of what he called a “crunch lab.”

“For the past few days, people the world over have said we need to print parts for ventilators and masks,” Lamotte said.

“Our role is to test and confirm that they work. For now, we are trying to remain as informed as possible so we are not stuck if something more important has been made,” he said.

More than machines, there is a dire need for staff and their protective gear, said Olivier de Cock, former head of the French union of anesthesiologists and emergency room medics.

In intensive care units, it is common practice to place COVID-19 patients on their stomachs, which requires five people, he said.

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