The Kaohsiung Department of Health has tracked down nearly 100 people who have had contact with an Indonesian factory worker after she visited a friend in New Taipei City who later tested positive for COVID-19.
The friend — an Indonesian caregiver — was on Sunday confirmed as the nation’s 32nd COVID-19 patient, and the search began after a check of the people she came in contact with included the Indonesian factory worker, a Gangshan District (岡山) resident who also fell ill.
The investigation found that the factory worker visited a local clinic on Saturday last week because of a sore throat, after which she went to a hot pot restaurant with three friends.
Photo: Huang Hsu-lei, Taipei Times
She was taken to a hospital and quarantined on Sunday, department official Pan Chao-ying (潘炤穎) said yesterday.
In a first round of testing, the worker tested negative for the virus, but the hospital is doing another round of tests.
Tracing her movements, Pan said the worker traveled to New Taipei City on Feb. 16 and returned to Kaohsiung via high-speed rail on Tuesday last week.
After arriving at Zuoying Station, she took the MRT to her workplace in Gangshan.
In the days that followed, the worker made contact with nearly 100 people, including friends, coworkers at the factory and medical workers at the clinic she visited, the department said.
Those known to have come in contact with the Indonesian worker have been asked to follow self-health management guidelines for 14 days, Pan said.
On Thursday, the Central Epidemic Command Center detailed the movements of the Indonesian caregiver confirmed to have the virus.
From Feb. 16 to 24, the caregiver took public transportation in the Greater Taipei area and passed through Taipei Railway Station several times.
She also took the Taiwan Railways Administration train to Shulin and Banciao stations, visited Taipei City Mall and Longshan Temple (龍山寺), as well as took the Sanchong Bus “Blue 38” line, and the Taipei MRT Tamsui-Xinyi, Bannan and Zhonghe-Xinlu lines.
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