The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported four local COVID-19 cases: three family members of an infected worker at a quarantine hotel and a family member of an infected pilot.
The new cases bring the number of infections involving China Airlines Ltd (中華航空) pilots and the Novotel Taipei Taoyuan International Airport hotel, where many of the airline’s crew members quarantined, to 24.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said three of them are the husband, son and daughter of case No. 1,129, a woman in her 60s, who works at the hotel.
Photo: Tony Yao, Taipei Times
The son is in his 30s and began experiencing sore muscles and a cough on Thursday, so he was tested on Friday and the result came back positive yesterday, Chen said, adding that 16 of his close contacts have been placed under home isolation, while 11 others have been ordered to conduct self-health management.
The husband is in his 60s and began experiencing a cough, a fever and diarrhea on Thursday, and was tested on Friday, he said.
The husband and wife traveled to Chiayi and Yunlin counties between April 23 and April 25 and their close contacts have already been identified, Chen said.
The daughter is in her 30s, and began experiencing a cough and a fever on Wednesday and Thursday, Chen said.
She had sought treatment at a clinic, and was tested on Friday, he said, adding that 111 of her close contacts have been placed under home isolation.
The fourth local case is a girl under the age of five, Chen said.
She is the daughter of an infected pilot, and although she did not have any symptoms, her brother tested positive, so she was tested on Friday, he said.
Asked if the hotel and airline cluster was larger than the cluster at Taoyuan General Hospital in January and February, Chen said that 24 cases have been confirmed, exceeding the hospital’s 20 cases.
The hospital cluster resulted in 4,888 people being placed under home isolation, and while the latest cluster has not yet affected that many people, the center cannot rule out the possibility of community spread, he said.
“We cannot yet confirm the risk that the Novotel infections pose to local communities, but we can say for certain that the infection risk is very high for close contacts within families,” Chen said.
“The family members of workers exposed to infection — the top three priority groups for COVID-19 vaccination — will also be eligible for government-funded vaccination starting tomorrow,” he said. “We urge them to get vaccinated, as it is an important protective measure.”
As of yesterday, the CECC has confirmed that four hotel staff members, 10 China Airlines cargo plane pilots, including one who tested positive in Australia, and 10 family members have COVID-19.
Chen said that the expanded testing program for all of China Airlines’ 1,279 pilots has found another pilot — a Russian in his 30s who mostly flew to and from Australia — who tested negative for IgM antibodies and positive for IgG antibodies, suggesting a previous infection.
So far 1,225 pilots have received an antibody test, he said, adding that 1,212 tested negative, 12 tested positive and one person is awaiting their result.
The CECC also reported one imported case, a student from Indonesia.
A TAIWAN FIRST: The duo are the first badminton players from Taiwan to climb an Olympic podium, and Tai Tzu-ying has a shot at doing the same today Taiwanese badminton duo Lee Yang (李洋) and Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) yesterday won the nation’s first Olympic gold medal in the sport when they prevailed over a third-seeded Chinese pair in the final of the men’s doubles at the Tokyo Olympics. Lee and Wang, both first-time Olympians, defeated Liu Yuchen (劉雨辰) and Li Junhui (李俊慧) 21-18, 21-12 in a 34-minute final at the Musashino Forest Sports Plaza. As of yesterday, Taiwan had bagged seven medals in Tokyo — two golds, two silvers and three bronzes — topping its previous best of five medals in 2000 and 2004. Taiwan moved to No. 17 in the
NO ‘ONE CHINA’ LIE: The appropriations act passed the US House of Representatives with a vote of 217-212, but still needs Senate approval and the president’s signature The US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a foreign assistance spending bill with an amendment forbidding that funds be used to create, procure or display maps depicting Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China. The amendment was introduced by five Republican representatives — Tom Tiffany, Steve Chabot, Scott Perry, Kat Cammack and Mike Gallagher — and passed unanimously in a bundle with a dozen other amendments. “This is a common sense measure,” Tiffany said, speaking on the House floor on Wednesday. “As we all know, Taiwan has never been part of communist China. The Taiwanese people elect their
‘TEAM TAIWAN’: Taiwanese athletes have performed admirably and raised the nation’s profile, but many abroad still think they are Chinese, an advocate said Advocacy groups have called for the national team to compete under the name “Taiwan” at the Tokyo Olympics, while former Olympian Chi Cheng (紀政) has launched another referendum petition on the issue. Taiwanese athletes have performed outstandingly at the Olympics and have raised the nation’s profile on the world stage, Northern Taiwan Society chairman Lee Chuan-hsin (李川信) said on Friday. “Many foreign news agencies, including Japan’s NHK, have called our delegation ‘Taiwan’ instead of ‘Chinese Taipei.’ Therefore our own people and politicians should also speak of ‘Team Taiwan’ and Taiwanese athletes,” he said. “However, in Taiwan, most of the time the Taiwanese team
THE HOME TEAM: DPP Legislator Kao Chia-yu said she canceled her booking for an AstraZeneca shot as soon as she heard that the Medigen vaccine was an option President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said that she would get inoculated with the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Taiwan-based Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp (高端疫苗). Tsai wrote on Facebook that she had registered for her first vaccine dose using the national online COVID-19 vaccination booking system, which allows people to indicate their preferred vaccine brand and to make an appointment when the shot becomes available. Tsai said that she opted for the Medigen vaccine — one of three now available on the system, along with the AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines — even though Medigen has yet to deliver any doses or provide a
RSS