《TAIPEI TIMES》 New masks to enter market, CECC says

LIFE IN PANDEMIC: A pregnant Filipino who had twice tested negative for COVID-19 tested positive while in labor, in what authorities said was the first such case in Taiwan

By Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter

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Locally produced medical-grade masks will be required to bear the words “Made in Taiwan” and “MD” （medical device）, with convenience stores to start selling them on Sept. 28, in a bid to restore confidence in Taiwan’s masks, the Central Epidemic Command Center （CECC） said yesterday.

After mask makers Carry Hi-tech Co （加利科技） and Haw Ping Co （豪品） — part of the government’s “national team” of suppliers to the mask rationing system — were accused of importing masks from China, the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced that locally produced masks sold in pharmacies must be stamped “MD” and “Made in Taiwan” from Thursday next week, while those without the marks are to be recalled by Dec. 17.

However, convenience stores need more time to adapt to the change, as they sells masks on a pre-order basis, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung （陳時中）, who heads the CECC, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday.

The molds for the markings would be uniform and designed by the government, he added.

Mask importers are required to obtain permits for the government to track the products’ origin, amount and circulation, he said.

The packages of medical and nonmedical-grade masks should be labeled with their place of origin, while medical-grade masks must have an additional MD mark, he added.

Although legally produced masks without the marks can be sold until Dec. 17, businesses that want to return them earlier should contact the authorities, Chen said.

Nearly 10 million masks at pharmacies and 50 million masks at post offices would need to be recalled, he said, adding that they would be used as strategic reserves.

Meanwhile, the CECC yesterday reported two new cases of COVID-19, bringing the nation’s total to 498.

Case No. 497, a pregnant Filipina in her 30s, took a flight from the Philippines via Hong Kong and arrived in Taiwan on Aug. 30, Chen said, adding that she had tested negative before the flight and again upon arrival.

While staying in a quarantine facility, the woman on Thursday went into labor and was sent to a hospital, where she tested positive before delivery, he said.

The woman did not show any symptoms of the disease, and has given birth, Chen said.

Health authorities are to test members of her family who entered Taiwan with her, he said.

The newborn has been tested, with results expected to be known today, the center said.

Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang （莊人祥） confirmed that the woman is the nation’s first case who tested positive for the disease while in labor.

Case No. 498 is a Taiwanese man in his 60s, who in July had tested positive for the disease and received treatment in the Philippines, but tested negative on July 31 and Aug. 7, before being discharged on Aug. 8, the center said.

He returned to Taiwan on Wednesday and stayed in a quarantine facility after he was again tested, it said, adding that his test came back positive yesterday.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES