Dear Connexpedition 2020 Members,

Today we write to you knowing that this is not the news you were hoping to hear. We understand that you were all looking forward to the opportunity to travel to Taiwan and serve the students of New Taipei City alongside new friends this summer. While disappointing, we hope you can understand our decision to postpone this summer's trip.

The shelter-in-place order in our local counties and the state of California has had a detrimental impact to our training progress.

Moreover, our decision will put first the health and safety of the hundreds, if not thousands, of people our program impacts: you and your family, the students of New Taipei City and their families, our staff, and the faculty and administrative staff of the New Taipei City school district.

A number of restrictions informed our decision to postpone the trip:

Taiwan CDC imposed restrictions on indoor gatherings > 100 persons. The date of lifting these restrictions currently remains to be decided.
Taiwan has barred all foreign visitors (non-Taiwanese passport holders) from entering the country effective March 19. The date of lifting the entry restriction currently remains to be decided.
Any traveler arriving from outside Taiwan and granted entry are subject to a 14-day home quarantine.
While strict shelter-at-home orders from the Office of the Governor in California will last until the end of May, we do not expect to be allowed to host large gatherings in June based on the governor's new four-stage plan to ease social-distancing requirements. We will be unable to host the necessary in-person training sessions in May and June to prepare for our trip.

Additional interpretations of the ongoing situation were also taken into consideration:

The wearing of masks in Taiwan is not only viewed as a courtesy, but a responsibility to others during this time. Wearing masks in warmer environments for extended periods of time may put our volunteers and students at risk of heat-related illnesses.
Most travel medical insurance plans have an exclusion for coverage related to epidemics or pandemics if a travel warning for the destination country has been issued for a certain number of days prior to the travel period.
Anyone at our service location (not limited to volunteers and students) developing symptoms of COVID-19, regardless of actually contracting the disease, will suspend our service in Taiwan indefinitely and cause severe disruptions to any travel plans. This will result in the possibility of needing to cancel flights, additional costs for room and board, and extraneous medical expenses.
The decision to postpone our service trip now will allow us to begin organizing our contingency plan. This will give you, our members, more time and information to make an informed decision regarding your participation in the revised Connexpedition 2020 program.

We are extremely fortunate to have you as a part of our family and are extremely proud of what we have already accomplished together during these unprecedented times. As mentioned previously, your commitment and efforts will not go to waste, and we invite you to participate in our revised Connexpedition 2020 program. The specific details of the new program will be announced to you soon via email.

In the meantime, we will continue to remain in communication with you and your families and provide opportunities for distance learning and bonding with your teammates. As always, we are available via email should you have any questions or concerns.

We wish you and your family good health in the coming weeks and months.

Sincerely,

Tswei-Ping Wu
Vice Director, WCEO

David Huang
Program Coordinator-TW

Brian Chen
Program Coordinator-US

Sophie Lam
Program Manager