Taiwan’s EVA Airways fired an accused pilot for the first local transmission of coronavirus in the country in eight months.
The airline said the anonymous pilot, a New Zealander, was responsible for the infection of a local woman, the first local case in 253 days, according to Yahoo! News. The company said in a statement that the pilot violated public safety rules and did “serious damage to the company’s reputation and image.”
The man allegedly worked without a mask despite the fact that he was usually reminded of his masking colleague by a Taiwanese colleague, who later gave positive results, the airline said. The pilot, who allegedly coughed during a December 12 flight to the United States, was fined $ 10,600 for not “really” accounting for his activities and contacts, according to Yahoo !.
Of the 173 people who came in contact with the infected woman, 170 gave negative results, according to Taiwanese Health Minister Chen Shih-chung. The pilot is believed to have visited two large stores, among other locations, but earlier said he could not remember where he was and did not tell authorities he had made contact with the infected local woman, the press reported.
Existing protocols require that any pilot arriving on the island be quarantined for three days on a trip abroad, a requirement that will be tightened as a result of the outbreak.
Taiwan, which sealed its borders and implemented blocking measures at the beginning of the pandemic, recorded only 776 cases of the virus and seven deaths. Each case of the virus between April and December involved a handful of Taiwanese returning home and foreigners.