During the COVID-19 Update Press Conference on June 15, Deputy Mayor Huang Shan-shan announced the schedule for reopening school grounds to the public. While the original plan was to make the facilities accessible starting July 15, the City has decided to readjust the schedule after listening to public opinion and considering the success of pandemic containment efforts.
Education Commissioner Tseng Tsan-chin pointed out that local schools reopened its outdoor areas on June 13, but indoor areas such as classrooms are only accessible with the permission from school authorities and in compliance with regulations. The City’s plan is to reopen all school campuses after June 20, with the exact time and scope determined by the respective schools.
Huang noted that as a general guideline, the public can access the track and fields before and after school hours, as well as all day on holidays and weekends. She explained that previous considerations for not opening the grounds earlier is concern over additional disinfection routines, which requires coordination with schools. With the exception of time slots reserved for summer classes and programs, the majority of campuses will be accessible to the public during summer vacation.
Responding to media question about whether some schools will wait until July to reopen their campuses instead of June 20, Commissioner Tseng replied that the date set by the city government is official policy, having discussed it beforehand with respective faculty members and PTAs. Other than exceptions such as renovation constructions, in principle the Education Department will request schools to adhere to the guideline.
The media mentioned that New Taipei City Government adopted the Real Name Registration System for swimming pool visitors and inquired about Taipei’s approach. Huang replied that Taipei City has never closed its swimming pools. Every district sports center has implemented the Real Name Registration System, so there haven’t been any changes with the policy.
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Source：Department of Information Technology, Taipei City Government / Publish Date：2020-06-16
