TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Soldiers from Taiwan's chemical warfare unit were deployed for a second time this week on a mission to eliminate the Wuhan coronavirus from Taoyuan City.
On Tuesday (Jan. 19), Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced four new cases from a cluster that started in Taoyuan General Hospital last week. In response to the frightening spike of new local cases, Taiwan's Army deployed troops from the 33rd Chemical Warfare Group to spray disinfectant in areas confirmed cases had recently visited.
(MND photo)
However, by Wednesday (Jan. 20), the total number of cases had risen to 10. The troops were dispatched to Taoyuan again on Thursday (Jan. 21) to conduct further disinfection operations, using machines to spray bleach and disinfectants in specific neighborhood communities with the goal of turning back the coronavirus invasion.
Thursday morning, soldiers were armed with 10 backpack disinfectant sprayers, two MD-105 heavy-duty trucks, and one MDS-106 sprayer.
Under the leadership of Colonel Kung (龔), the soldiers worked with the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) and cleanup teams. They first focused their efforts on Taoyuan General Hospital before fanning out to surrounding neighborhoods, such as Gaocheng, Gaoming, and Youngfeng in Taoyuan's Bade District, to ensure public safety.
(MND photo)
The soldiers were greeted with cheers and words of encouragement from locals such as "Like," "Keep up the good work, soldier brothers," "Thank you for defending our home," and "It's great to have you here."
Earlier in the day, Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) went to Longshan Elementary School, where he was briefed on community epidemic prevention efforts. Cheng offered words of encouragement to officers and enlisted personnel as they prepared to carry out disinfection and expressed confidence in their determination to keep the virus at bay.
(MND photo)
(MND photo)
(MND photo)
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