He Broke Quarantine for 8 Seconds. Now, a $3.5K Fine

Taiwan isn't messing around when it comes to this safety protocol
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 7, 2020 12:02 PM CST
Updated Dec 12, 2020 2:40 PM CST
He Broke Quarantine for 8 Seconds. Now, a $3.5K Fine
Were those eight seconds of freedom worth it?   (Getty Images/oatawa)

Taiwan has had only about 700 cases and only seven deaths from the coronavirus, per Johns Hopkins University, and it intends to keep it that way. That's why the island nation is so strict with its quarantine protocols, as one man recently found out. The Filipino migrant worker was holed up in one of the 56 quarantine hotels scattered around Kaohsiung City, where he was under strict orders not to leave his room, per CNN. But the man was spotted on CCTV by hotel workers stepping into the hallway for a whole eight seconds before turning around and heading back inside, Taiwan's Central News Agency reports.

Hotel staff contacted the country's health agency, and the man has now been hit with a $3,500 fine for those eight seconds of relative freedom. CNN reports that Taiwan has managed to keep its COVID-19 numbers low not with sweeping nationwide lockdowns, but with fast initial responses to cases, aggressive testing and contact tracing, and rigid enforcement of safety protocols regarding quarantine. (More Taiwan stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X