Pilot blamed for Taiwan's first virus transmission in months fired from airline

Taiwan’s EVA Airways has fired a pilot blamed for the first local transmission of the coronavirus in the nation in eight months.

The airline said the unnamed pilot, a New Zealander, was responsible for the infection of a local woman, the first local case in 253 days, according to Yahoo! News. The company said in a statement that the pilot had flouted public safety rules and done “serious damage to the company’s reputation and image.”

The man reportedly worked without a mask despite being reminded of the masking rule by a Taiwanese colleague, who later tested positive, the airline said. The pilot, who reportedly was coughing during a U.S.-bound Dec. 12 flight, has been fined the equivalent of $10,600 for failure to “truthfully” account for his activities and contacts, according to Yahoo!.

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Of 173 people who made contact with the infected woman, 170 have tested negative, according to Taiwanese Health Minister Chen Shih-chung. The pilot is believed to have visited two department stores, among other locations, but had earlier said he was unable to remember where had been and that he had not told authorities he made contact with the infected local woman, the news outlet reported.

Existing protocols require any pilot arriving on the island to quarantine for three days per trip overseas, a requirement that will be tightened as a result of the outbreak.

Taiwan, which sealed its borders and implemented lockdown measures early in the pandemic, had recorded only 776 cases of the virus and seven deaths. Every case of the virus between April and December had involved a handful of Taiwanese nationals returning home and foreign nationals.