Taiwan’s success in containing the coronavirus is certainly cause for celebration, and to really emphasize the point, farmers in one agricultural region decided this week that it’s high time to break out the… watermelons?
After a string of six straight days with no new confirmed coronavirus cases, a group of farmers in Changhua, in central Taiwan, decided that to keep the streak going, they’d come together — each with a hefty watermelon in their arms — and pray, the Liberty Times reported. And it worked: Two days later, Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) confirmed a record eighth day in a row with no new reports of contagion, according to the news site Focus Taiwan.
The unusual event was clearly about lifting spirits, but by choosing to pose with watermelons, the farmers were also hoping to boost sales of the fruit after COVID-19 has caused a sharp drop in the island nation’s agricultural exports. For now, domestic sales at least have gotten a boost: to celebrate Mother’s Day, the New Kinpo Group, one of Taiwan’s major electronics firms, along with several other companies, gave their employees each a watermelon as a present.
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