Authorities in Taipei have located 27 foreign women allegedly working as hostesses in Wanhua District (萬華) and arranged for them to be tested for COVID-19, police said yesterday.
The women are believed to be linked to a COVID-19 cluster that spread from teahouses in the district over the past week.
Due to the urgent need to track the women to contain the outbreak, police said they asked the National Immigration Agency and the National Police Agency’s International Section for information and to aid them in their search over the past few days.
Earlier this week, Wanhua Police Precinct officers checked 65 teahouses and other entertainment venues related to the cluster centered around Guangzhou Street and Sanshuei Street, finding 80 foreign women working as hostesses.
Police also identified an unspecified number of Taiwanese hostesses, and were able access their health history and addresses as they all have National Health Insurance and identification cards, they said.
Priority was given to finding the undocumented foreigners working illegally as hostesses, police said.
Of the 80 foreign hostesses, 53 had been located as of Tuesday, and they have been requested to undergo COVID-19 testing, they said.
Most of them were reportedly from China and Vietnam, as well as other Southeast Asian countries.
Taipei City Councilors had asked the police to quickly find the remaining hostesses over concerns that they might leave Taipei to return to their old jobs or find new employment, and spread the disease if they are infected.
The Wanhua Police Precinct yesterday reported that the remaining 27 women had been found as of noon and escorted to local COVID-19 testing stations in the afternoon.
Of the 53 women identified on Tuesday, 15 have been tested, 34 are waiting to be tested, two have departed for China, one has been placed under isolation and another would need to leave Taiwan when her visitor’s visa expires on June 11, police said.
However, some people said the reported figure does not match the actual numbers, saying that more checks are needed, as police have contacted only 22 of 65 proprietors in the Wanhua area.
There could be other Taiwanese or foreign hostesses who need to be tested for COVID-19, they said.
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