Kuwaiti skips quarantine to run triathlon in Taiwan

克威特男檢疫期間路跑參加鐵人路跑

Man shows up in Pingtung after going missing at Taipei quarantine hotel

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Kuwaiti man has been detained for breaking the 14-day quarantine requirement in order to participate in a triathlon event, the Pingtung Public Health Bureau said Sunday (April 25).

According to the bureau, the Kuwaiti national in his 20s failed to submit health verification and other COVID-19 related documents while registering for the 2021 IRONMAN 70.3 Kenting triathlon in Pingtung County on Saturday. It was later confirmed that he was supposed to be undergoing mandatory quarantine at a hotel in Taipei and the Central Epidemic Command Center had reported him missing.

The bureau said the man, who arrived in Taiwan on April 18, had presented proof of a negative COVID-19 test three days prior to his flight. However, he should have stayed isolated until May 2, it explained.

The bureau said the man was wearing a face mask when he registered at the event and that he had been sent to a quarantine facility in Kaohsiung.

During a media interview, Yu Tsan-hua (余燦華), head of the Taipei Health Department disease control division, said the Kuwaiti national will receive a maximum fine of NT$1 million (US$35,724) for ignoring quarantine regulations. The authorities will also determine whether the man had kept his mask on during the train ride from Taipei to Pingtung, he added.