Coronavirus: Taiwan urges Italy to scrap three-month flight ban

Italy last week announced flights would be suspended from China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan from February 2 to April 28 to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

The announcement came after two cases of the infection were confirmed in Rome.

Both victims were Chinese tourists.

The government in Taipei has stressed to its counterpart in Rome the limited incidence of the disease on the island.

Taiwan has reported just 10 cases of the virus, and no deaths.

Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu has blasted the World Health Organization (WHO) for treating Taiwan as part of China in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak, arguing that this decision has led to the suspended flights and wider isolation from the rest of the world.

Beijing claims the self-governed island of Taiwan as part of its territory.

Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations and is routinely listed as part of China by UN-affiliated organisations.

Wu claimed that in declaring Taiwan as part of China in a report on the coronavirus, WHO provided “inaccurate information”.

In the report, dated February 1, Taipei was included in a list of provinces, regions and cities of China with confirmed cases of the virus.

Also, in a table of confirmed cases worldwide, it listed China with 11,821 cases and said they included cases confirmed in Hong Kong SAR (13 confirmed cases), Macau SAR (7 confirmed cases) and Taipei (10 confirmed cases).

“I would like to publicly call upon the WHO to recognise the simple fact that Taiwan is Taiwan and it is not part of the People’s Republic of China,” Wu said, adding that health care in Taiwan and China is administered by separate authorities, as are their flight information regions.

Wu claimed the WHO report was a key factor in Italy’s decision to suspend flights, as it was made on the recommendation of Italian health authorities and the announcement used the term “Taipei” and other language found in the WHO report.

WHO  also didn’t permit Taiwan to attend emergency briefings on the coronavirus emergency.

Around 500 Taiwanese tourists are reportedly stranded in Italy due to the flight ban and will have to be rerouted through other European cities, according to a Taiwanese official in Rome.