CECC skirting dance hall issue is ‘typical,’ Ko saysCENTRAL GOVERNMENT: ’Ordering the businesses to suspend operations was easy, but no one wants to take the responsibility for reopening them,’ the mayor saidBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Central Epidemic Command Center’s (CECC) instruction that local governments can decide whether hostess clubs and dance halls can reopen is a typical example of the central government’s unwillingness to take responsibility, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday. The CECC on April 9 ordered all hostess clubs and dance halls to suspend operations after a case of locally transmitted COVID-19 involving a hostess in northern Taiwan was confirmed the day before. “I know firsthand that the central government’s instruction that ‘local governments can decide whether to allow hostess clubs and dance halls to resume operations’ is a typical example of its unwillingness to take responsibility,” Ko said. Taiwan had not reported a new domestic case in 27 days, so hostess clubs and dance halls should be allowed to resume operations, Ko said. Asked about Ko’s remarks, Chen later yesterday said that the central government has issued the guidelines, but that local governments know the businesses in their area better.

Source: Taipei Times May 10, 2020 15:56 UTC