Filipino fined $3,540 by Taiwan for 8-second quarantine breach

Taiwan has introduced stricter facemask rules for the winter

Credit: An Rong Xu/Getty Images

A Filipino who arrived in southern Taiwan for work has been fined $3,540 for leaving his room at a quarantine hotel for just eight seconds, violating strict rules designed to control the coronavirus. 

The man, who arrived in November in the port city of Kaohsiung, was caught on surveillance camera briefly leaving his room to deliver something to the door of his friend who was quarantining on the same floor, reported Taiwan’s China News Agency, citing the city’s department of health. 

The department issued the hefty fine as he was still undergoing a mandatory 14-day quarantine period. Hotel managers have been asked to closely monitor guests due to a surge in Covid-19 cases among people arriving in Taiwan for work or study. 

Taiwan has managed to keep its infections total at a low 716 and just seven deaths since January. 

The island, which lies less than 100 miles from the eastern coast of China, has been praised for successfully managing the virus through widespread mask-wearing, contact tracing, and, in particular, strict border controls that limit entry and impose 14-day quarantines on any new arrivals. 

Since April, there have been no locally transmitted cases and all new infections have been detected in nationals or foreigners arriving from abroad, including multiple cases from the Philippines and Indonesia, which have the highest infection rates in Southeast Asia. 

Taiwan suspended entry for Indonesian workers from December 4-17 due to spiking cases in their home country. Meanwhile, under new rules from December 1 to February 28, all travellers entering or transiting Taiwan must provide a certificate of a negative Covid-19 RT-PCR test issued within three days prior to boarding the flight. 

Some Taiwan residents pointed out on social media that the fine issued to the Filipino worker was much more severe than the one handed out to four foreign DJs who each received a penalty of $350 for breaching quarantine regulations ahead of a concert in November. 

Dr  Chuang Jen-hsiang, spokesman for the Central Epidemic Command Centre, said at the time that the DJs had been caught breaking the rules of “one room per person” when one of them uploaded a video of them rehearsing together. 

The penalty structure under a special law governing the prevention of severe pneumonia with novel pathogens ranges from NT$100,000 ($3,540) to NT$1 million ($35,400).

In March, a local man was fined more than $35,000 for skipping home quarantine to go out clubbing. The authorities slapped him with the maximum penalty as his night out was deemed “malicious.”

The Telegraph contacted the Taiwanese health authorities who confirmed that a Filipino worker had been fined NT$100,000 and said the penalty was decided by the local government in Kaohsiung.