The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday ordered the suspension of work at an electronics company where a cluster of 182 COVID-19 infections was reported. It also ordered all migrant workers at the firm to enter home isolation.
King Yuan Electronics, a chip testing and packaging service provider based in Hsinchu City that employs many migrant workers at its two factories in Miaoli County, last week conducted rapid COVID-19 tests on all of its more than 7,000 employees after several migrant workers tested positive.
The CECC yesterday said that 182 confirmed cases — including 24 Taiwanese and 158 foreigners — were reported at King Yuan Electronics, and 399 close contacts had as of Saturday been identified.
Two other electronics companies in Miaoli County each had 12 COVID-19 cases among their employees, the center said, adding that these cases are two Taiwanese and 22 foreigners.
Contact tracing is being conducted, it said.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that the CECC ordered King Yuan Electronics to take five measures to rein in the spread of the disease.
Among the measures was that the firm’s “migrant workers are suspended from work and must practice home isolation, but they will continue to receive full pay,” Chen said.
Those who work in the firm’s high-risk areas would quarantine at centralized facilities, while those working in lower-risk areas were ordered to isolate in their dormitories, where they would practice self-health management, Chen said.
Contact tracing would focus on the Taiwanese who were confirmed to have the virus’ so that their close contacts could immediately be placed under home isolation, Chen said, adding that all employees who tested negative were ordered to practice enhanced self-health management.
All employees who tested positive isolate at hospitals, Chen said.
King Yuan Electronics would be allowed to resume partial operations under a site-specific COVID-19 prevention program once on-site inspections by the Industrial Development Bureau, Center for Disease Control physicians and the company management have cleared the facilities, Chen said.
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face