Universities Unprepared for COVID-19 Surge 被隔離失當案例多 大學可申請集中檢疫所

Universities are finding it hard to deal with the rising number of cases. The Ministry of Education promised if schools don't have sufficient quarantine and isolation facilities, they can apply to the CECC to relocate students. Meanwhile, healthy students living in those dorms can also be relocated to nearby hotels. The MOE will subsidize the relevant costs.

At one school, students that tested positive were moved to the school's kitchen. At another school, students that tested positive slept on sleeping bags in a conference room. Universities are struggling with how to respond to the rising number of cases and quarantine and isolation requirements.

National Taiwan University Student: “Right now, all the regulations are extremely unclear. You of course don't want this to happen, but there's nothing you can do.”

Some schools were unprepared for the rising number of students testing positive and those having to quarantine or isolate, and they also have limited space. The Ministry of Education spoke with schools' disease prevention officers on May 3 and some resolutions were reached. Students that test positive will be given assistance to return home. If they can't go home, they will be sent to a quarantine dorm or off-campus hotel. If schools don't have enough space, they can apply to send students to local centralized quarantine facilities. The MOE has asked the Central Epidemic Command Center to help coordinate.

Fan Yun, Legislator (DPP): “Minister, did you and the Central Epidemic Command Center communicate properly with local governments? Is there the possibility that central government units will pass the buck around? ”
Pan Wen-chung, Education Minister: “If students test positive, we can directly coordinate with centralized quarantine facilities to temporarily find an appropriate place for them.”

If schools are forced to allocate five percent of all beds to serve as quarantine facilities, the MOE will provide a subsidy of NT$10,000 per bed used for isolation purposes and NT$5,000 per bed used for quarantine purposes. Healthy students living in dorms expropriated for disease prevention can move to nearby hotels.

Wan Mei-ling, Legislator (KMT): “Who's going to take care of these off-campus living expenses?”
Pan Wen-chung, Education Minister: “Students pay to live on-campus. If they are sent off-campus, this amount won't cover their stay. We hope that we and schools can help.”
 
The MOE said it will subsidize related costs, including disease prevention taxi fares to return positive students to their homes and off-campus hotel stays for healthy students. Any university student with a positive rapid test result will be treated by the university as a confirmed case and in-person classes will be suspended and related mechanisms will be activated.

一般住宿生和確診與居隔學生住在一起，確診學生被安置在廚房，快篩陽的學生在會議室打地舖，這波本土疫情爆發以來，接連有大學被爆隔離、防疫失當。

有台大學生指出：「因為現在真的整個規定也很亂，所以你說當然是不希望這個事情發生，但好像其實也沒有辦法。」

確診和居隔學生暴增，大學隔離空間有限，教育部3日再找大學防疫長溝通並決議，原則上協助個案返家，若無法返家，安置學校隔離宿舍或校外旅館，容額不足，先向地方申請集中檢疫所，有困難，教育部轉請指揮中心協調。

民進黨立委范雲向教育部長潘文忠質詢時問：「地方政府這裡，部長您跟指揮中心有沒有溝通好？會不會又發生中央、地方把這個確診學生互踢皮球的狀況？」

教育部長潘文忠回應：「如果有確診的學生，我們可以直接協調這個集中檢疫所，來暫時做好比較適切的安置。」

若大學徵用隔離和檢疫宿舍床位達全校宿舍床數5%，教育部補助隔離一床一萬，檢疫一床五千，健康學生因宿舍被徵用，可移往學校附近的旅館。

國民黨立委萬美玲又問潘文忠：「如果他們出去外面，去處理他們自己住的問題，那是給這些學生的這個費用？」

潘文忠說：「他本來在學校有繳住宿費的費用，到外面住一定不夠，我們希望我們跟學校就是要來協助。」

潘文忠強調，返家的防疫計程車資，健康學生暫住校外旅館等相關費用都補助，採實報實銷。而避免時間差，只要學生快篩陽，學校視同新確診個案，暫停實體課程與疫調，相關機制立即啟動。