A factory in New Taipei City operated by Career Technology Co (嘉聯益) is to remain closed after recording 15 COVID-19 infections as of yesterday, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said.
The 15 people — who were among 37 domestically transmitted cases reported by the center yesterday — are employees at the plant in Shulin District (樹林), Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, told the CECC’s daily news conference.
The factory was closed on Wednesday after an initial case was reported, and although the company had planned to resume production yesterday, the premises would remain closed for the time being while the CECC assesses the situation, Chen said.
Photo: CNA
Further tests of factory employees returned an additional 14 positive results, and more tests would be conducted at the Shulin plant and the company’s Taoyuan site, he said.
The source of the cluster is still unknown, he said.
Career Technology, which supplies flexible printed circuit boards to Apple Inc, said in a statement yesterday that the confirmed cases “had no effect on the company’s overall operations and production.”
Among the other 22 new domestic cases recorded yesterday, 11 were employees at an Askey Computer Corp (亞旭電腦) factory in Taoyuan’s Farglory Free Trade Zone (遠雄自由貿易園區), bringing the number of cases reported in the zone to 176, Chen said.
The Taoyuan cluster is linked to an outbreak of COVID-19 in the city that was traced to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in early January.
Six separate cases involved an extended family with members living in New Taipei City, Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, some of whom shared a meal in Kaohsiung and went on a trip to Miaoli County over the Lunar New Year holiday, Chen said.
The source of the family members’ infections is still under investigation, he said.
Yesterday’s five other domestic cases are four linked to a family in Kaohsiung, bringing the cluster of unknown origin to eight cases, and an employee at a tea shop in New Taipei City’s Sijhih District (汐止) who tested positive after showing symptoms and whose source of infection is also unknown, Chen said.
Twenty-six of the 37 new domestic cases recorded yesterday were of unknown origin, which is “worrying,” he said.
Among them, 19 had received two COVID-19 vaccine doses, four had gotten one dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna brands, and the vaccination status of the remaining 14 is still under investigation, the CECC said.
Taiwan also reported 46 imported cases yesterday.
Of them, 15 tested positive upon arrival in Taiwan, while the rest tested positive in quarantine.
The CECC did not release any information regarding the vaccination status of the imported cases.
In related news, elementary schools in Kaohsiung have delayed the start of the new semester by three days, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said.
The decision was made to safeguard the well-being of young children during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
Community infections are still sporadic within the city, he said.
A three-day delay would give the city government enough time to assess the situation and formulate an approach with more information, he said.
While elementary schools are to open on Monday next week, junior and senior high schools are to start the new semester today as scheduled, Chen Chi-mai said.
For parents of elementary-school students whose schedules are based on the new semester starting today, schools would provide a basic daycare service, he said.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from
RSS