A business in Chiayi County has reported 11 cases of COVID-19, with their source of infection possibly from northern Taiwan, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday.
At its daily news briefing, the center reported 21 new local cases — nine in Chiayi, seven in Taipei, four in New Taipei City and one in Kaohsiung, with no new fatalities.
Among them, 18 cases have known sources of infection, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center.
Photo courtesy of the Central Epidemic Command Center
The nine cases in Chiayi have been determined to be part of a cluster at a workplace, which has accumulated 11 cases, including two relatives of employees, he said.
Among the cases, two had traveled to northern Taiwan, he added.
While there are not many employees at the business, which Chen did not identify, the virus might have been developing at the site for quite a while, he said.
Seventy-eight people related to the cluster have received virus testing, including 10 who tested positive, while 11 people are awaiting tests, he added.
According to local media reports, the cluster is linked to a factory in Shueishang Township (水上).
Hospital and Social Welfare Organizations Administration Commission Director Wang Pi-sheng (王必勝), who is deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division, yesterday met with Chiayi County Commissioner Weng Chang-liang (翁章梁) to discuss plans to curb the cluster, Chen said.
Due to the new cases, the county government yesterday reinstated a ban on restaurant dine-in services and public events until Friday next week. It previously lifted the restriction after a nationwide COVID-19 alert was lowered to level 2 on Tuesday.
The Chiayi City Government followed suit in reimposing the ban on dine-in services and public events.
Asked if Chiayi County’s cluster might be related to Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華) cluster, as one infected employee reportedly lived there until two weeks ago, Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) said the city government would investigate the matter should it receive confirmation of the cases’ ties to Taipei.
The CECC also reported four imported cases, who are three Taiwanese returning from the US, the Philippines and Indonesia and one American who came to Taiwan for work.
Among nine imported cases reported from Friday last week to Thursday, seven involve the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 and one the Alpha variant, said Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), who is deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division.
As of yesterday, the center has identified 42 people who have the Delta variant, including 30 imported and 12 local cases, he said, adding that all the local infections were related to a cluster in Pingtung County.
Additional reporting by Lin Yi-chang, Tsai Ya-hua and Ting Wei-chieh
FORCED LABOR: A US court listed three Taiwanese and nine firms based in Taiwan in its indictment, with eight of the companies registered at the same address Nine companies registered in Taiwan, as well as three Taiwanese, on Tuesday were named by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) as a result of a US federal court indictment. The indictment unsealed at the federal court in Brooklyn, New York, said that Chen Zhi (陳志), a dual Cambodian-British national, is being indicted for fraud conspiracy, money laundering and overseeing Prince Holding Group’s forced-labor scam camps in Cambodia. At its peak, the company allegedly made US$30 million per day, court documents showed. The US government has seized Chen’s noncustodial wallet, which contains
SUPPLY CHAIN: Taiwan’s advantages in the drone industry include rapid production capacity that is independent of Chinese-made parts, the economic ministry said The Executive Yuan yesterday approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion (US$1.44 billion) into domestic production of uncrewed aerial vehicles over the next six years, bringing Taiwan’s output value to more than NT$40 billion by 2030 and making the nation Asia’s democratic hub for the drone supply chain. The proposed budget has NT$33.8 billion in new allocations and NT$10.43 billion in existing funds, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Under the new development program, the public sector would purchase nearly 100,000 drones, of which 50,898 would be for civil and government use, while 48,750 would be for national defense, it said. The Ministry of
SENATE RECOMMENDATION: The National Defense Authorization Act encourages the US secretary of defense to invite Taiwan’s navy to participate in the exercises in Hawaii The US Senate on Thursday last week passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026, which strongly encourages the US secretary of defense to invite Taiwan’s naval forces to participate in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, as well as allocating military aid of US$1 billion for Taiwan. The bill, which authorizes appropriations for the military activities of the US Department of Defense, military construction and other purposes, passed with 77 votes in support and 20 against. While the NDAA authorizes about US$925 billion of defense spending, the Central News Agency yesterday reported that an aide of US
The combined effect of the monsoon, the outer rim of Typhoon Fengshen and a low-pressure system is expected to bring significant rainfall this week to various parts of the nation, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The heaviest rain is expected to occur today and tomorrow, with torrential rain expected in Keelung’s north coast, Yilan and the mountainous regions of Taipei and New Taipei City, the CWA said. Rivers could rise rapidly, and residents should stay away from riverbanks and avoid going to the mountains or engaging in water activities, it said. Scattered showers are expected today in central and
RSS