The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported the fifth COVID-19 case in a cluster infection at a Taoyuan hospital, where four other medical workers were confirmed to have been infected over the past week.
The latest case is a nurse who had tested negative on Tuesday last week, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, told a news conference.
However, on Thursday, she developed symptoms, such as nasal congestion and a cough, and a second test yesterday found that she was infected, Chen said.
Photo: CNA
She is the head nurse of a ward where two doctors previously tested positive, the CECC said.
The first medical personnel to be infected — one of the doctors — most likely caught the virus from a Taiwanese man in his 60s who is being treated at the hospital after returning from the US late last month and developing a severe COVID-19 infection.
The doctor later infected his partner — a nurse at the hospital — as well as another nurse and the other doctor.
The CECC has refused to name the hospital, but Chen at yesterday’s news conference accidentally revealed that it is “the ministry’s Taoyuan General Hospital.”
Asked for confirmation, Chen said that the Taoyuan hospital is the site of the cluster infection.
The CECC said it would set up a command center at the hospital to monitor the situation.
Patients who were cared for by the infected medical personnel have all been transferred to single rooms, it said, adding that the hospital would not admit new inpatients nor allow hospital visits.
The CECC also reported six new imported cases of COVID-19 infection. Three of the cases are members of a Taiwanese family who live in the US and returned home on Jan. 4, Chen said.
The mother, who is in her 40s, reported symptoms such as a cough, fatigue and fever while in quarantine, and her COVID-19 test came back positive yesterday, Chen said.
Her son and daughter, both under 10 years old, also tested positive, but have been asymptomatic so far, Chen said.
One of the other cases is a Swedish man in his 50s who works in Taiwan. He traveled to the UK early last month for work, returned to Taiwan on Jan. 3 and tested negative for COVID-19 a day later.
However, a test conducted at the end of his quarantine period came back positive, Chen said.
All travelers arriving from the UK are tested for COVID-19 at the start and end of their mandatory 14-day quarantine period.
The fifth case is a teenage student from the Philippines who arrived in Taiwan on Dec. 31 and tested positive for COVID-19 the day after her quarantine ended, Chen said.
Five people who traveled in the same vehicle with her have been quarantined, he said.
The sixth imported case is a Burmese man who works as a crew member on a ship.
He tested positive after completing 14 day of quarantine and seven days of self-health management, Chen said.
Taiwan has so far recorded 862 cases of COVID-19 infection, 762 of which are imported. Of the total, 756 people have recovered, seven have died and 99 are in hospital, CECC data showed.
Additional reporting by Lin Hui-chin and Yang Yuan-ting
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a