Pilot Blamed For Taiwan's First Domestic COVID-19 Case In Months Fired By Airline

A pilot from New Zealand flying a plane owned by Eva Air has been blamed for breaking Taiwan's 253-day streak of having no new coronavirus case.

The pilot was reportedly fired by the airline for causing Taiwan's first domestic coronavirus transmission.

The pilot tested positive for the coronavirus Tuesday. Taiwan's first domestic infection in months was a woman who had been in contact with the pilot before her arrival. Health officials traced back the infection to the pilot.

The Taiwan government immediately re-imposed restrictions, including the cancellation of some public Christmas activities.

Health officials have encouraged residents to just stay at home during the rest of the holiday season and New Year's Eve.

The pilot - whose identity has not been made public - reportedly contracted the virus earlier in the month but remained asymptomatic. All crew members and passengers of the Eva Air flight to Taiwan have been placed in quarantine for three days. Those that show symptoms will reportedly be immediately tested.

Sources with knowledge in the matter said that the pilot was unaware that he had the virus. However, the pilot reportedly still continued to fly despite experiencing mild coughing after a flight back from the U.S.

The pilot reportedly tested positive Dec. 20 in a separate test. Taiwanese authorities accused the pilot of failing to inform people he came into contact with that he had been infected.

Taiwan slapped the man with a $10,600 fine for his failure to immediately inform officials of his condition.

Eva Air said that they had fired the pilot for violating its operational principles. The airline said that they also found out that the pilot had violated its other rules, including the wearing of a face mask while in the cockpit.

"The behavior of an individual employee has undermined everyone's efforts at epidemic prevention...[and had brought] serious damage to the company's reputation and image," Eva Air said in a statement.

Apart from the Taiwanese woman, the pilot reportedly infected two other people - a pilot from Japan and another from Taiwan.