TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As Taiwan's strict new mask rules kicked in on Tuesday (Dec. 1), the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) posted an illustration showing its canine mascot demonstrating the eight types of public venues where face masks are now required.

On Tuesday, masks became mandatory in eight categories of places, including healthcare facilities, public transportation, places of consumption, places of learning, sports and exhibition venues, entertainment venues, houses of worship, and offices and business venues. To help raise public awareness of the new rules, the MOHW on Tuesday released an illustration of its popular cartoon Shiba Inu spokesdog, Zongchai (總柴), on Twitter to add a bit of humor to the otherwise dry public service announcement.

As stated at the top of the illustration, those who fail to wear masks in these contexts and do not heed requests to do so will face fines of between NT$3,000 (US$105) and NT$15,000 for violating the "Communicable Disease Control Act" (傳染病防治法). Below the notification, Zongchai can be seen facing a clinic, scratching an itch on a bus, sniffing produce at a night market, attending classes with glasses, catching a Shibu Inu show, begging for tasty morsels in a temple, howling some tunes in a KTV bar, and sporting a tie in an office.

Chinese language version. (Twitter, MOHW of Taiwan image)

English language version. (Twitter, MOHW of Taiwan image)