MND Blasted for Choosing High School As Quarantine Meeting Point|選台中一中為集合地點 立委批國防部草率

M. Chuang
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Three more cases of COVID-19 from a cluster infection aboard on the naval Panshi Fast Combat Support Ship were confirmed on April 21, bringing the total number to 27. The Ministry of National Defense had rushed to recall naval personnel for quarantine. However, the ministry has asked the sailors to gather at Taichung First Senior High School, which is in a very population-dense area, and without first inquiring for the school's permission. This decision has thus drawn criticism from legislators, who are calling to nail the person who is responsible.


Workers disinfect Taichung First Senior High School and its surroundings after the Ministry of National Defense ordered sailors from the Panshi Fast Combat Support Ship to meet there for transport to test and quarantine. The ministry didn't bother to inform the school beforehand, which has sparked outrage among parents. Lawmakers are also blasting the ministry.

The Ministry of National Defense) initially said their vehicles parked outside the school gates and no one entered the campus. We later found a photo that showed the vehicles. This one shows the vehicles as well. These are the vehicles; this is the campus of Taichung First Senior High School.

Most of the (meeting points) were at the gates of elementary and junior high schools. We asked them if they bothered to notify the schools beforehand. Their answer was, they did not notify any municipal governments or any of the schools, to prevent panic. After the news broke, it sparked even greater panic.

School officials refused to allow the sailors to enter the campus. Meanwhile, lawmaker Chang Liao Wan-chien says the ministry's decisions ran counter to Central Epidemic Command Center directives and put students in danger. Ministry officials were conspicuously absent from the press conference. In a written statement, the ministry says it chose the school as a meeting point because of adequate space and air circulation, and ease of access and identifiable location. Lawmakers are having none of it.

The K-12 Administration did not, in fact, receive any notifications. As Taichung First Senior High School is under the direct jurisdiction of the Taichung City Government, we contacted the Taichung City Education Bureau to find out if they were notified. They were not.

Lawmaker Ho Hsin-chun says the school and other meeting points chosen by the government met none of the Navy's three conditions, which were closest to residential areas, minimal traffic disruption, and empty space. She called on the ministry to be honest with the public and live up to its responsibilities.



消毒車輛,駛進台中一中的校園裡,人員仔細噴灑消毒水,一點都不能馬虎,校園外的紅磚道,也不能放過,因為,國防部緊急召回敦睦艦隊的官兵,集合地點之一,就選在台中一中的校門口,校方也沒有事先被通知,引發不少家長緊張,立委更秀出國防部車輛進入學校的照片,質疑國防部的決策太草率。

民進黨立委 黃國書表示:「(國防部)在第一時間說他們的車輛,只有在校門口,並沒有進入校園,後來我們找到了現場一些照片,這個就是國防部,軍方的檢疫車輛,這張也是,這個就是國防部的檢疫車輛,這個就是台中一中的校園。」

民進黨立委 張廖萬堅表示:「大量的(召回地點)都是在中、小學的門口,我們問他說,有沒有事先跟學校知會,他的回答是說,為了避免造成地方的恐慌,所以沒有告知在地的地方政府,也沒有跟學校通知,結果事情一曝光之後,就引起更大的恐慌。」

雖然被召回的官兵,最後因為校方拒絕,沒有進入校園,但立委張廖萬堅指出,國防部的處理方式與疫情指揮中心完全背道而馳,罔顧學生安全,而國防部在記者會上缺席,僅先以書面回覆指出,選擇地點考量在於場地空曠、通風良好,地標明顯以及易於辨識,讓三位立委痛批軍方,要清楚對外說明。

教育部國教署專委 詹雅惠表示:「國教署確實是沒有接到任何的通知,因為台中一中,是屬於台中市府的轄管學校,有聯繫台中市教育局,也沒有接到相關的通知。」

立委何欣純指出,從海軍發布的,離戶籍地最近、不影響交通、空曠地等三項召回原則來看,台中一中等召回地點,都不符合,她認為,國防部誠實文化值得存疑,仍然要求國防部必須要出一個交代。

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