CORONAVIRUS/More Indonesian agencies banned from sending migrants to Taiwan

Taipei, Nov. 30 (CNA) Six more Indonesian manpower agencies were added Monday to a list of companies banned from sending migrant workers to Taiwan after a spike in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases from Indonesia in recent days.

With immediate effect, migrant workers from the agencies Pt. Arni Family, Pt. Brata Karya Indonesia, Pt. Citra Putra Indarab, Pt. Dewi Pengayom Bangsa, Pt. Mulia Lakasana Sejahtera, Pt. Pelita Karya Juhari will be prohibited from entering Taiwan, Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced Monday.

Since Oct. 22, 15 of the Indonesian migrant workers who have tested positive for COVID-19 after arriving in Taiwan came from those six agencies, the CECC said, leading to its decision to ban entry of workers brokered by those companies.

The CECC made the announcement hours after it confirmed 24 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, of which 20 were migrant workers recently arrived in Taiwan from Indonesia.

It also said Monday it will temporarily suspend the entry of Indonesian migrant workers into Taiwan for two weeks starting Dec. 4.

The new list brought the total number of Indonesian manpower agencies facing the ban to 14.

The first eight, announced between Nov. 20 and Nov. 28, were Sentosa Karya Aditama, Pt. Vita Melati Indonesia, Pt. Ekoristi Berkarya, Pt. Graha Ayukarsa, Pt. Laatansa Lintas, Pt. Prima Duta Sejati, Pt. Bumenjaya Eka Putra and Pt. Mitra Sinergi Sukses.

The CECC also announced on Nov. 20 that all Indonesian migrant workers arriving in Taiwan be placed under centralized quarantine.