Taiwanese families say COVID-19 deaths didn’t have to happen

By HUIZHONG WU
Associated Press

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — For 30 years, Nancy Chen ate lunch every day with her parents at their apartment. After her parents caught COVID-19 and her father died, she now eats lunch alone with her mother. The island has been hailed as a pandemic success story. But Chen and other families who lost loved ones are angry that their government did not prepare enough and they don’t believe it was a success. They’re suing the government as part of a national compensation case, backed by a former health minister from the opposition Nationalist Party. Chen and other families ask why the island did not have antibody drugs on hand when their family members were sick and in the hospital.