[ad_1]
A sign at a subway station in Taipei, Taiwan, on April 2, 2020.
Walid Berrazeg / SOPA Images / LightRocket / Getty Image
A pilot accused of infecting two colleagues and causing Taiwan’s first local transmission of coronavirus since April was fired on Wednesday, his airline said.
The island’s 253-day clean streak with no local Covid-19 infections ended Tuesday after a local woman who had contact with the pilot, a New Zealander, tested positive.
The man, who worked for Taiwan’s EVA Airways, was fined Tw $ 300,000 ($ 10,600) for failing to “honestly disclose” his contacts and activities to health authorities once he learned he was infected.
The airline in a statement said it had violated pandemic prevention regulations and caused “serious damage to the reputation and image of the company.”
The New Zealander did not wear a mask while on duty earlier this month despite being reminded by a Taiwanese pilot, who along with a Japanese colleague also tested positive, according to EVA Airways.
It was reported that he had been coughing during a flight to the United States on December 12.
Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said on Wednesday that 170 of the 173 people who had contact with the infected local woman tested negative for the virus, with three results pending.
Authorities said the pilot visited several locations, including two department stores, but claimed he could not remember where he had been. He also did not reveal his contact with the woman.
Pilots arriving in Taiwan currently undergo only three days of quarantine after each trip abroad, compared to the more stringent two-week requirement for other international travelers. Authorities now plan to toughen those rules.
The infection is a blow to an island that has been lauded for its pandemic response, as it recorded only 776 coronavirus cases and seven deaths after closing its borders early and implementing strict quarantine rules.
Since April 12, all positive cases have come from a small number of locals returning to the island, as well as from the few foreigners who are allowed entry for commercial reasons.
