An NGO that helps migrant workers distributed more than 1,000 medical grade face masks to migrant fishermen in the fishing county of Yilan on Saturday in an effort to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Members of the Migrant Workers’ Concern Desk at Saint Christopher’s Church in Taipei distributed the 1,100 masks, along with around 200 donated jackets and jumpers to hundreds of migrant fishermen in the county’s Wushi, Nanfang’ao, and Daxi harbors.
Father Gioan Tran Van Thiet, assistant parish priest at the church, who visits migrant fishermen in Yilan on a weekly basis, said the masks were donated by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Saudi Arabia.
“We received the masks just a little over two weeks ago because the donors saw news reports that we are trying to give migrant fishermen face masks because of the coronavirus outbreak,” Thiet said.
He said fishermen, who live and sleep in cramped conditions on fishing boats, can be vulnerable to infections.
“If one person catches the virus, then they may pass it on to the whole crew,” Thiet said.
Nguyen Van Va, a migrant fisherman in Yilan originally from the Vietnamese province of Nghe An, said he really appreciates the masks and was unaware that Taiwan has implemented rationing.
“My employer did not tell me anything,” he said. “The last time I purchased masks was last year and this year I have been working long hours and I didn’t have time to go and buy masks.”
Demand for face masks has surged amid fears over the spread of the acute respiratory disease, and shortages have forced the government to ration mask purchases to two per person every seven days at pharmacies contracted by the national health insurance (NHI) system.
An Indonesian fisherman, identified only as Ori, said even with the rationing it is still difficult to buy masks because of the long queue.
Meanwhile, Judito Deputado, a Filipino worker on a sightseeing vessel, said he has still been unable to buy any masks because they are all sold out.
“I am concerned about the coronavirus because it is a global epidemic,” he said.
Since the coronavirus surfaced in Wuhan in December, it has caused more than 67,000 infections and 1,500 deaths worldwide, mainly in China. Taiwan has 18 confirmed cases to date. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the virus a global health emergency last month.
Marites Lopez Hingpis, a caregiver in the county’s Nanfang’ao Township, who also received a face mask that day, said she frequently needs to accompany her patient to hospital but her employer does not provide her with face masks.
However, the Ministry of Labor issued a statement Jan. 30 addressing measures against the coronavirus that indicate employers are required to provide face masks to their employees if their employees’ jobs involve them visiting hospitals.
There are over 2,000 migrant fishermen in the Yilan area, according to the Yilan Migrant Fishermen’s Union.
Central News Agency