Minister of National Defense Yen De-fa apologized to the public April 21 over a cluster of coronavirus infections on board the ROC Navy combat support vessel Panshi, vowing to root out the cause.
The MND deeply regrets mismanagement of disease prevention measures aboard the vessel and any subsequent disturbance to society, Yen said.
Two navy admirals directly involved in the matter have been removed from their posts pending further investigation, the minister said, adding that he and Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Liu Chih-pin had asked President Tsai Ing-wen to take necessary punitive actions.
Yen made the remarks during a press conference in Taipei City held after confirmation by the Central Epidemic Command Center of 27 COVID-19 cases among the vessel’s 337 crew members.
Part of the Navy’s Dunmu Fleet, Panshi was one of three vessels on overseas training exercises from March 5 to April 9 that included a stop in Pacific ally Palau.
All 744 crew members stayed on board for five days as part of quarantine and testing protocol upon returning to Zuoying Naval Base in southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung City, the CECC said. The confirmed cases are now receiving treatment in isolation, with the remainder undergoing 14-day quarantine at various facilities, it said.
According to Yen, a preliminary investigation found major flaws in disease prevention protocol by the Navy and the vessel’s command center.
These include inadequate planning of relevant measures before departure, lax enforcement of health management procedures during the mission, poor compliance with testing upon return and failure to report developments in a timely manner to the CECC, Yen said.
The CECC said any crew member who exhibits symptoms of COVID-19 during isolation will be tested again for coronavirus, with all the sailors tested once more at the end of the 14-day period. Only those that test negative will be discharged from quarantine, it added. (SFC-E)