Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor (MOL) revised its pandemic prevention guidelines Tuesday, instructing firms with more than 30 migrant workers to appoint dedicated personnel to manage COVID-19 related matters, effective immediately.

However, the ministry is still drafting related rules and indicated it is aware that it could take businesses time to adapt to the new rules.

According to a statement issued by the MOL’s Workforce Development Agency (WDA), businesses with over 30 migrant workers must appoint COVID-19 prevention coordinators and other dedicated personnel to help speed up vaccinations, name registration, the dissemination of disease prevention information and conduct health monitoring.

If an employee at such a business contracts COVID-19, the coordinator should be the point of contact with the health authorities and be responsible for contacting the government agency responsible for migrant workers, the WDA said.

The coordinator should also list contacts in the workplace and help determine places the COVID-19 patient has visited, the WDA said, adding that they also need to follow pandemic prevention protocols and assist health authorities quarantine infected workers.

With regards the MOL requiring incoming migrant workers to undergo mandatory quarantine at facilities provided by manpower agencies, the WDA said personnel working at those facilities need to have had a COVID-19 booster shot at least 14 days prior to working there.

Those who have doctors’ certificates indicting they should not get a COVID-19 vaccine, must undergo self-paid rapid antigen or PCR tests once a week, the WDA said.

The current pandemic prevention guidelines for migrant workers also forbid workers from different companies to live in the same dormitory, the WDA said.

The treatment of migrant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic has received much attention in the media over the past two years, with many pointing out differences in the way they have been treated relative to Taiwan nationals.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel