Man gets $3,500 fine after 8-second break of quarantine

Taiwan has only had about 700 cases and 7 deaths from the coronavirus, and it intends to keep it that way.

That’s why the island nation is so strict with its quarantine protocols, as one man recently found out.

The Filipino migrant worker was holed up in one of the 56 quarantine hotels scattered around Kaohsiung City, where he was under strict orders not to leave his room.

But the man was spotted on CCTV by hotel workers stepping into the hallway for a whole eight seconds before turning around and heading back inside.

Hotel staff contacted the country’s health agency, and the man was immediately charged a $3,500 fine for those eight seconds of relative freedom.

The Secret to Taiwan’s low COVID numbers? Fast initial responses to cases, aggressive testing and contact tracing, and rigid enforcement of safety protocols regarding quarantine.