Taiwan mobilizes 300 extra staff to stop African swine fever during Lunar New Year

台灣在農曆新年期間動員300名人力防堵非洲豬瘟

Number of countries in the region with swine fever rose from one to 11 over the past year: COA

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Council of Agriculture (COA) will mobilize 300 extra members of staff to try and prevent African swine fever from entering Taiwan during the Lunar New Year holiday, reports said Wednesday (Jan. 8).

The risk of the virus making its way into the island had increased as 11 countries in the region had reported cases, CNA quoted COA Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) as saying.

He called on travelers not to bring in pork and other meat products from overseas while traveling. During the holiday period, thousands of Taiwanese are expected to travel around the region or to return home to Taiwan from work in other countries, such as China. The authorities worried that they might buy presents overseas including banned meat delicacies.

Chen made the comments during a visit to Taipei’s Songshan Airport. He noted that over the last Lunar New Year holiday, China had been the only country in the region where African swine fever had been prevalent but since then it had expanded to 10 other countries, requiring Taiwan’s customs and immigration to be more alert this time around.

However, the authorities would not only tighten border controls, but also turn inward to inspect the estimated 7,000 hog farms around the country, Chen said.

At Songshan Airport alone, up to 4,700 passengers a day are expected to arrive mainly from China, Japan and South Korea during the holiday period later this month, according to CNA.