The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 27 new locally transmitted COVID-19 infections and 17 deaths, and said it was working toward conditionally lowering the level 3 alert on Tuesday next week.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said there were also two imported cases — Taiwanese who returned from the US and Indonesia.
Of the local infections, 15 tested positive during quarantine or upon ending quarantine, and the infection sources of 17 cases had been identified, while 10 cases were being investigated, Chen said.
Photo: CNA
Fourteen cases were reported in Taipei, 11 in New Taipei City, and one each in Changhua County and Pingtung County, he said.
The number of cases reported in COVID-19 hotspots in Taipei and New Taipei City has been falling, while the hotspots have become relatively safe after expanded testing and isolation, he said.
“Based on the current COVID-19 situation, if we can thoroughly implement preventive measures and have good response capability, we can head toward opening up, under certain restrictions, after July 13,” Chen said, adding that the final decision would hinge on the situation in the days leading up to Monday next week.
Photo courtesy of the Central Epidemic Command Center
The center is also discussing plans to allow dine-in service at restaurants under certain restrictions, but the main consideration of the center is to bring COVID-19 under control, while gradually letting people return to their normal lives, he said.
The two standards for issuing the level 3 alert in May were having more than three clusters of infections in one week or more than 10 local infections with unclear sources reported in one day, but while there were no clustered infections and fewer than 10 local infections with unclear sources every day this week, the situation remains relatively unstable, Chen said.
Therefore, the center is assessing the standards required to carry out preventive measures and quickly respond to new infections, he said.
If dining-in at restaurants is allowed, preventive measures, such as social distancing, using table dividers and separate utensils, measuring body temperature and frequent disinfection would be required, and if restaurants failed to implement them they would only be allowed to provide takeout or delivery services, he added.
Meanwhile, Chen said that a new COVID-19 case has been confirmed to be linked to a cluster of infections of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 in Pingtung County.
The new case had tea with three previously confirmed cases on June 20 and also took the same vehicle to a centralized quarantine facility with two previously confirmed cases on June 26, he said, adding that the person tested positive during isolation.
No new cases were reported at three wholesale markets in Taipei with cluster infections, but a testing station near Huannan Market (環南市場) in Wanhua District (萬華) detected a case on Monday, so a testing station would continue to operate at Shuang Yuan Junior High School for local residents and market workers, he added.
Genome sequencing on a few cases linked to the First Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market and Huannan Market clusters showed that they were infected with the Alpha variant of SARS-CoV-2, Chen said.
The center also reported 17 deaths, 14 men and three women who were in their 40s to their 90s.
Fifteen had underlying health conditions.
To date, 706 people have died of COVID-19 in Taiwan, 694 of them since May 15.
Additional reporting by CNA
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