station "President of Academia Sinica" Liao Junzhi. Reporter Qiu Yijun/Photography
A former assistant at the P3 Laboratory of the Genome Research Center of Academia Sinica in Taiwan was shocked by the epidemic. Liao Junzhi, President of Academia Sinica, has now made a project report on this to the Social Welfare and Health Environment Committee of the public opinion organization. The report pointed out that "the self-report is inconsistent with the records", the "laboratory accident reporting process" and the "wearing and taking off protective equipment process" were all flawed, and the virus-infected mice were not even operated in the biological safety cabinet . Another video confirmed that this researcher was not the only one who incorrectly put on and took off protective equipment.
The written report also summarized the preliminary investigation and revealed six major oversights:
(1) The rat bite accident was not reported in accordance with the "in-hospital" environmental safety and health regulations and the laboratory's SOP.
(2) The operation suspected of environmental pollution in the laboratory did not comply with the laboratory SOP. The mice were not handled in a biosafety cabinet and responsibility remains to be determined.
(3) The process of putting on and taking off personal protective equipment does not fully comply with SOP. Attribution of responsibility remains to be determined.
(4) New employees are still in training and are suspected of not receiving sufficient operational training.
(5) There seems to be no management or senior personnel monitoring the laboratory operations in the central control room.
(6) Units and hospitals should strengthen supervision and re-examine the supervision mechanism.
Punishment methods were also listed in Liao Junzhi’s report. After the responsibility is clarified, the contracted personnel will be given a warning or a demerit according to the circumstances. If they are truly unable to perform their duties, they will be dismissed in accordance with the law.
lists eight severe penalties for researchers or research technicians who violate regulations. This includes written warnings, withdrawal or annulment of awards previously awarded by the Academy and recovery of bonuses. Applications for various academic activities and research projects are restricted. Stop using various academic administrative resources. Stop concurrently holding the supervisory, administrative, and committee positions of the Institute or various research institutes (divisions, centers). Academic research performance shall not be rated above Level 2. Suspension of work without pay. If the violation is serious enough to deem him unqualified as a research worker, the employment contract will be terminated in advance.
