More than 7,300 students and teachers in New Taipei City were pulled from classes to prevent the spread of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, the city government said yesterday, adding that those who tested negative for the virus could return to school from today.
On Wednesday, the municipality raised its COVID-19 alert to “augmented level 2,” hours before the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) confirmed that the Delta variant was the cause of a cluster of infections at a kindergarten in Banciao District (板橋).
The cluster has been linked to 27 cases as of yesterday, CECC data showed.
The city is treating the cluster with a high level of caution that is appropriate for the Delta variant, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) told a news conference.
Students and faculty who were in contact with someone who has been quarantined cannot attend classes until they test negative for the disease in a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, he said, adding that this was a necessary precaution while the “city battles the variant.”
Health and education officials have so far ordered 7,369 students and teachers to stay at home, New Taipei City Education Department Commissioner Chang Ming-wen (張明文) said.
Stay-at-home orders have been issued for 16 schools, including preschools and elementary, junior-high and senior-high schools in Banciao, Jhonghe (中和), Taishan (泰山) and Wugu (五股) districts, he said.
When a student is quarantined, their class would also have to stay home, but the rest of the school can continue as normal, he said, adding that those who test negative in a PCR test can return, starting today.
The city government on Wednesday ordered the evacuation of a housing complex, after six confirmed cases related to the preschool’s cluster were reported in one of the complex’s two buildings.
The building’s 400 residents were sent to government quarantine facilities or hotels, while 505 residents in the other building were asked to be screened for the virus and conduct self-health management, the city said.
While one more case was confirmed at the complex yesterday, a worker, 785 residents have tested negative, Hou said.
The city government on Wednesday reinstated a ban on dine-in services at eateries across the city, effective from yesterday until Wednesday next week.
The Taipei City Government said it would not follow suit, while the Keelung City Government said that its COVID-19 situation does not warrant such a ban.
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