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HEALTH-VIRUS-TAIWAN-PRISON
Taiwan inmates join coronavirus fight with mask factory
TAOYUAN, Taiwan, March 11, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Behind the barbed wire-topped
fences of Taipei Prison, a small group of inmates are hunched over clacking
sewing machines, working overtime to churn out face masks and help ward off
the new coronavirus.
Usually the men would be making prison uniforms in the bright-lit sewing
factory in the city of Taoyuan.
But after the coronavirus spread to Taiwan they switched to making masks,
putting together some 52,000 face coverings since mid-February. Sporting a
grey face mask himself, a 50-year-old inmate surnamed Yuh said he was keeping
his family close to heart as he worked.
“When they came to see me, they said it was very difficult to buy face mask
out there. I said to them ‘Daddy is making face masks here, and that maybe
you will have the benefit and the opportunity to use it’,” he told AFP.
“Every time I sew face masks, I think to myself that it can bring some
security to my family.”
Yuh is currently ten years into a 23-year sentence for possession of drugs
and firearms.
“This little face mask not only lets us contribute to society, it also
gives us self-esteem,” he said.
The inmates — who have volunteered for the job — work quickly with
machines they have clearly come to know well.
After stitching the fabric with the sewing machines, they carefully trim
the masks with small scissors before ironing and packaging them.
Taiwan’s prisons routinely employ prisoners to make products from food to
garments and soaps.
The programmes are designed to teach inmates practical skills as well as
raise funds for victim compensation and the improvement of facilities.
The masks are sold for around Tw$25 (83 cents) each and the inmates are
paid a small wage which they can spend within the prison.
– ‘Extra shifts’ –
Correctional facilities across Taiwan are taking part in the new scheme to
manufacture cloth face masks and face mask protectors to supply their staff
and the public.
Taiwan was briefly struck by panic buying of medical face masks earlier
this year until the government introduced a rationing system.
The island has been held up as an example of how to handle an outbreak,
with the government moving fast to reduce overseas arrivals from infected
areas and issue clear medical guidance that has been widely adopted by the
public.
Despite being so close to the original outbreak in mainland China, Taiwan
has just 48 confirmed cases of the Covid-19 disease with one death.
The wearing of face masks among the public has become fairly widespread.
But many Taiwanese say the current rationing of three surgical masks a week
is insufficient.
As a result the face mask covers that prisons make can come in handy —
they are used to cover surgical masks to extend their duration.
Yen Chih-hong, a Taipei Prison official who helps run the scheme, said
inmates in the prison now make around 1,000 face masks daily, up from an
initial 450 as orders keep increasing.
“They are very willing to work extra shifts to fill in the orders…
sometimes I have to ask them to take a break,” he said.
Nearby Hong Kong, which is suffering widespread face masks shortages, has
long used prison labour to make surgical masks, primarily for government and
healthcare workers.
The operation there is far larger with prisoners able to churn out more
than a million masks a month.
In recent weeks, prison staff have even joined inmates to bolster their
ranks.
Last week, officials said they would launch an investigation after some of
the prison made masks had made their way onto pharmacy shelves for sale.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1122 hrs