Taichung City Government upgraded the COVID-19 outbreak emergency operation center to level 1 today (February 28) to engage in advance deployment and bolster various outbreak prevention work. In light of the risk of spreading the virus during indoor activities, the Social Affairs Bureau (SAB) has announced the suspension of all courses and activities at the evergreen academies and parent-child centers throughout Taichung City before April 6 in order to protect the citizens’ health.
According to SAB Director-General Peng Huai-Chen, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, although most of Taichung’s evergreen academies have postponed their classes to March 2, considering a large number of students in the evergreen academy classes (a majority of them are conducted indoors), and to prevent the risk of spreading the virus through close contact, the decision was made to postpone all evergreen academy courses to April 6 to protect the health and safety of senior citizens. For course-related information, please refer to the Taichung City Evergreen Academy Course Information System (https://old65.taichung.gov.tw/WebSite/index.aspx) or various district offices.
While the opening of evergreen academies is postponed, various contractors will reinforce the cleaning and disinfection of the learning environment including desks, chairs, and teaching equipment, as well as to maintain good air circulation in classrooms. In addition, senior citizens will be reminded of the importance of personal hygiene such as washing their hands frequently, covering up their mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing, as well as to avoid traveling to areas with large crowds, cramped spaces, and poor air circulation. They are also urged not to share food or drinks with others.
SAB Director-General Peng expressed that to protect the health of the parents and children, in addition to measuring body temperatures and sanitizing people's hands, visitors to parent-child centers in Taichung City are also required to wear a surgical mask. After the parent-child centers are closed in the morning and afternoon, thorough disinfection is performed throughout the facility. In supporting the upgrading of the COVID-19 outbreak emergency operation center to level 1, parent-child centers citywide will be closed until April 6. The city government will continue monitoring the latest outbreak developments and assess the reopening date.