Taiwan government denies treating quarantine residents 'like prisoners' with spot checks

台灣政府否認將隔離居民“當成囚犯”做抽查

Student complains staff rummaged through food, CECC says invasive measure necessary due to frequent contraband


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In response to a complaint by someone undergoing quarantine that they were being treated "like a prisoner, "Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Sunday (Feb. 20) said that it conducts spot checks on food deliveries due to cases of smuggled contraband.

On Feb. 17, a female college student took to the social media platform D-card to post photos of crushed pastries, crinkled potato chips, and a disheveled rice dish and wrote "Who would dare to eat like this?" She complained that the contacts of COVID cases sent to quarantine are "treated like prisoners."

In a Facebook post uploaded on Sunday, CECC official Victor Wang (王必勝) observed that a resident in a quarantine facility had claimed their food had been rummaged through by quarantine staff, triggering a wave of criticism against the central government. Wang posted a four-point response to the complaint:


"1. We do not treat residents in quarantine centers like prisoners but take care of them like relatives, hoping that they can safely complete their isolation or quarantine and return home safely.

2. After all, the quarantine center is not your home but a space that many people use together. Therefore, the operational guidelines must be provided and implemented to maintain the health and safety of all residents and staff.

3. The role of the quarantine center is isolation and quarantine, not recreation and vacation. The quarantine center is also the last line of defense of our national quarantine and isolation system. We have the responsibility to ensure epidemic prevention, residents' health, and public safety and rigorously complete the mission assigned.

4. Incoming items and food will continue to be inspected, but we will ask the staff to try to maintain their original integrity."


Wang pointed out that after an investigation of the incident reported on D-card, the complainant is suspected to be at a quarantine center in southern Taiwan.

He said that when she checked in, she brought in a large number of cigarettes, which were confiscated by quarantine center staff. She then demanded access to her cigarettes for several days, which disturbed other residents and prompted them to file complaints, according to Wang.

Later, a whole pack of cigarettes was discovered to have been smuggled inside a box lunch, "so the box lunch was a bit messy when it was delivered to the resident," said Wang. He said that in response to the situation, he had asked the center to provide nicotine patches and apologize to her for any inconvenience caused.

Wang shared several videos that showed drugs, tobacco products, and alcohol that were smuggled inside meals during random inspections at quarantine centers. For example, a bag of potato chips, which looked brand new and unopened, was found to contain several packets of drugs. A box labeled as mineral water was found to be filled with Kaoliang liquor, cigarettes, and other banned items.

Wang emphasized that the CECC has set guidelines that clearly ban such items. He said regulations have been formulated after more than two years of experience managing quarantine facilities and that security teams in quarantine centers conduct random checks based on their professional experience, the "behavior patterns of residents, the person delivering the items, and abnormalities in the goods."

He said that the proportion of contraband found in inspected items is "very high." The photos and videos included in the Facebook post were but a few examples, according to Wang.