Should epidemic prevention force large gatherings to stop? Central government's stance is vague; Zhenlan Temple keeps pushing ahead, Gongtian Temple "can postpone but cannot cancel"

Dajia Zhenlan Temple held a press conference announcing that the pilgrimage will proceed as planned but on a reduced scale, unless the government orders it stopped. The epidemic prevention center held a press conference at 1:30 p.m., where Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen said that to avoid the risk of cluster infection, religious groups have been advised to postpone or cancel large events, or believers have been advised to switch to online livestreaming and other methods.

Epidemic prevention center commander Chen Shih-chung said that the law authorizes the epidemic prevention center to order large events stopped, but prohibition orders must be used very cautiously. Although the current epidemic situation is not optimistic, there is still time, and they will continue to observe before taking action.

Epidemic prevention is treated as warfare. Facing whether the pilgrimage should be postponed or suspended, large temples are still waiting to see, and officials have been unable to show a decisive stance. With domestic medical capacity under severe strain, the Medical Labor Alliance believes that the later the stop is called, the higher the social cost, and the harder it will be to cancel the event. It called out: "Commander Chen Shih-chung, please catch the ball! Uphold professional epidemic prevention standards, issue orders according to law, and publicly announce the cancellation of large gathering events!"

Epidemic prevention center: all units are advised to have postponement or suspension contingency plans

The Ministry of the Interior, which oversees religious affairs, said it has learned that Dajia Zhenlan Temple has simplified the scale of the pilgrimage, thanked religious groups for actively cooperating to assist epidemic prevention work, and is in close communication. It once again emphasized that for large religious events, it still calls on relevant religious groups to pay attention to epidemic developments at all times and immediately prepare postponement contingency plans.

At the epidemic prevention center's afternoon press conference, Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen said that to avoid the risk of cluster infection, religious groups have been advised to postpone or cancel large events, or switch to online livestreaming and other methods. Regarding the Dajia Zhenlan Temple pilgrimage that the public is following closely, the Ministry of the Interior has learned that the temple has canceled two events expected to draw 10,000 people and simplified the pilgrimage itinerary, prohibiting crawling under the palanquin and touching the deity's palanquin. The Ministry of the Interior has reminded Dajia Zhenlan Temple to prepare postponement contingency measures and to maintain close contact and communication.