The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported one locally transmitted COVID-19 case, while viral genome sequencing has suggested a link between China Airlines (華航) pilots, their family members and workers at a quarantine hotel who contracted the virus.
Since April 20, 10 China Airlines cargo pilots have tested positive for COVID-19, including one in Australia. The sources of infection have not been established.
As of Friday, two family members of infected pilots, three family members of pilots who tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies and four Novotel Taipei Taoyuan International Airport hotel workers tested positive for the virus. Many of the airline’s crew members quarantined at the hotel after returning to Taiwan.
Photo: CNA
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that the new local case is a five-year-old boy — the son of an infected pilot.
“The pilot [case No. 1,102] usually stayed at Novotel for quarantine, but because of a sudden change in his flight schedule, he stayed at home for quarantine after the last flight he flew” before testing positive, he said.
The boy was placed under home isolation on Sunday last week, as soon as his father tested positive, Chen said, adding that he was tested after experiencing a fever on Thursday.
Two other family members have been placed under home isolation until May 15, he added.
All Novotel workers and guests were moved to centralized quarantine facilities and tested on Thursday, after a hotel staff member — case No. 1,120 — tested positive for COVID-19.
In total, only four of the hotel’s 207 workers have tested positive for the virus, while only case No. 1,120 tested positive for antibodies, Chen said.
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy chief of the CECC’s medical response division, said that only case No. 1,120 tested positive in both the polymerase chain reaction and antibody tests, indicating that among the hotel’s staff members, case No. 1,120 contracted the disease first.
“Among seven cases in which we have completed viral genome sequencing, the latest case — case No. 1,120 — was found to be infected with the same strain as five previous cases” — four pilots and a pilot’s family member, Lo said. “They were infected with the UK variant B.1.1.7 and shared the same viral sequence.”
“We can infer that there might have been cross infection between the pilots and the hotel staff members,” he said.
Lo said three of the four infected pilots had stayed at Novotel, and the onset of their symptoms was close to that of case No. 1,120, whose work area covered the rooms in which the pilots had stayed.
“Further investigations are needed to clarify how the virus was transmitted among them or how they were exposed to each other, but ... the evidence suggests that there may have been an infection chain among them,” he said.
Lo said that the pilots did not stay in rooms near each other, and the air-conditioning in their rooms was not connected.
Experts have inspected the hotel and the center believes they were not infected through the air-conditioning system, he said.
The CECC also reported three imported cases, a Filipino fisherman, a Taiwanese who returned from Indonesia and a Taiwanese who returned from the Philippines.
KEY INDUSTRY: The vice premier discussed a plan to create a non-red drone supply chain by next year, which has been allocated a budget of more than NT$7.2 billion The government has budgeted NT$44.2 billion (US$1.38 billion) to cultivate Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) industry over the next five years, which would make the nation a major player in the industry’s democratic supply chain in the Asia-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Cho made the remarks during a visit to the facilities of Cub Elecparts Inc (為升電裝). Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsieh Yi-fong (謝依鳳) also participated in the trip. Cub Elecparts has transitioned from the automotive industry to the defense industry, which is the top priority among the nation’s
‘UNFRIENDLY’: Changing the nationality listing of Taiwanese residents to ‘China’ goes against EU foreign policy as well as democratic and human rights principles, MOFA said Taiwan yesterday called on Denmark to correct its designation of the nationality of Taiwanese residents as “China” or face retaliatory measures. The Danish government in 2024 changed the nationality of Taiwanese citizens on their residence permits from “Taiwan” to “China.” The decision goes against EU foreign policy and contravenes democratic and human rights principles, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said. Denmark should present a solution acceptable to Taiwan as soon as possible and correct the erroneous designation to preserve the longstanding friendship between the two nations, Hsiao said. The issue could damage Denmark’s image and business reputation in Taiwan,
SOUTH KOREA DISPUTE: If Seoul continues to ignore its request, Taiwan would change South Korea’s designation on its arrival cards, the foreign ministry said If South Korea does not reply appropriately to a request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, the government would take corresponding measures to change how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. Taipei has asked Seoul to change the wording. Since March 1, South Koreans who hold government-issued Alien Resident Certificates (ARC) have been identified as from “South Korea” rather than the “Republic of Korea,” the
SUFFICIENT: The president said Taiwan has enough oil for next month, with reserves covering more than 100 days and natural gas enough for 12 to 14 days A restart plan for the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) and the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春) would be submitted to the Nuclear Safety Commission by the end of the month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, reversing the government’s policy to abolish nuclear energy. On May 17 last year, Taiwan shut down its last nuclear reactor and became the first non-nuclear nation in East Asia, fulfilling the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government’s pledge of a “nuclear-free homeland.” Even without nuclear power, Taiwan can maintain a stable electricity supply until 2032,
RSS