Taiwan has made headlines for largely containing the spread of COVID-19 at a time when other countries around the world grapple with fall resurgences. Controversy surrounding a recent music festival offers a glimpse of why that might be. Four international DJs who performed at Road to Ultra: Taiwan 2020 on November 14th have been fined for breaking the quarantine mandatory for visitors.
According to Taiwan News, the four artists had begun their 14-day isolation in a quarantine facility after arriving in Taiwan on October 28th. Each was subject to a “one person per room” rule for the duration, but video shared on social media showed them all eating and rehearsing with no masks in an indoor area. For violating quarantine rules, they each must pay NT$10,000($351 USD).
Taipei Department of Health Head Yu Tsang-hua (余燦華) did not disclose the names of the performers, but only four acts were billed for the Ultra event: EDM DJs Vini Vici, Alesso, Kayzo and SLANDER.
A festival the size of Road to Ultra: Taiwan would be out of the question in the U.S. and most of Europe as COVID-19 cases surpass their March and April figures. Test results for Pfizer and BionTech‘s vaccine candidate have given the industry hope for 2021, however; Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino has said that he “expect[s] shows at scale next summer.” On Monday, Moderna announced that their own vaccine candidate tested at 94.5% efficacy, imbuing further optimism in the music industry and beyond.
Road to Ultra: Taiwan also featured performances by local artists DJ Junior, DJ Pei and Ray Ray.
Image credit: Dawid Łabno
