The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 40 local COVID-19 cases, but said that the increased case count did not correspond with higher infection risk, as 33 of them tested positive during isolation.
The Taoyuan and Kaohsiung city governments yesterday announced that all preschools in the two municipalities would postpone their reopenings until after the Lunar New Year holiday to Feb. 14.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that all new local cases were in the two municipalities — 30 in Taoyuan and 10 in Kaohsiung — and as 33 of them tested positive for COVID-19 during isolation, they did not pose a higher infection risk.
Photo: Kaohsiung Department of Health via CNA
Nine cases in Kaohsiung were linked to a Kaohsiung Harbor cluster, including six who tested positive during isolation, he said.
The remaining case — a mother of an infected preschool child, who tested positive when accompanying the child during isolation — was linked to a cluster first detected at a hotel in Yilan County, he said, adding that the Yilan cluster is gradually being brought under control.
Twenty-five of the Taoyuan cases were linked to a cluster at the Farglory Free Trade Zone (遠雄自由貿易園區), he said, adding that they all tested positive upon ending isolation on Friday.
Photo: Chen Wen-chan, Taipei Times
Four Taoyuan cases were linked to a cluster at Re-Yi Distribution Service Co (日翊物流), and the remaining case was linked to a Chien Tu Hot Pot (錢都日式涮涮鍋) restaurant.
The case count linked to Re-Yi Distribution is still growing, despite no additional workers testing positive, Chen said, adding that the new cases are close contacts of workers.
They tested positive while in isolation, and might have posed an infection risk to the community, he said.
The CECC is closely monitoring a suspected cluster at three Kaohsiung quarantine hotels, from where all guests had been moved to centralized quarantine facilities, Chen said.
Guest who stayed at the hotels at the same time as confirmed cases would be asked to get tested and quarantine for another seven days, while those who stayed on the same floors would have to quarantine for another 14 days, he said.
The CECC has so far contacted 99 of the 198 guests listed, Chen said.
The center has ordered local health departments to look into cases who test positive with relatively high viral loads after being discharged from quarantine hotels where other guests at the time also tested positive, Chen said, adding that contact tracing and genome sequencing of such cases would be performed.
Separately, Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) and Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) yesterday said they had jointly decided to order preschools in the respective cities to remain closed until Feb. 14.
The CECC also reported 32 imported cases, including 13 who tested positive upon arrival and 19 who tested positve while quarantining.
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