TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei on Monday (Sept. 13) announced that barbecues will be banned at riverside parks during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.
Amid fears that a kindergarten cluster infection caused by the Delta variant mainly concentrated in New Taipei City's Banqiao District could spread, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on Monday said barbecuing will be banned at the city's riverside parks during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.
In addition, no meals are to be provided at Mid-Autumn Festival galas, and the maximum number of people at gatherings will be 80 indoors and 100 outdoors.
Ko said the blanket ban in riverside parks was necessary because it is impossible for police to enforce all the epidemic prevention measures throughout the night. He said that events within crowd limits can still be held but emphasized that everyone must wear masks at all times.
The mayor said the city's epidemic prevention focus is not so much on barbecues themselves but the large group gatherings they draw. Ko indicated that people can still have barbecues outdoors in some other areas, but they must maintain a proper social distance of 1.5 meters and observe other epidemic prevention regulations.
As for restaurants, these can continue to serve customers indoors, but they must use partitions or checkerboard seating, said Ko.