The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported two local COVID-19 cases, one of which was linked to a cluster in New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋).
The cluster of 33 cases is centered around a preschool. Those infected include a teacher, students, their relatives, three neighbors of one of the infected students and a colleague of one of the relatives.
At least 21 of the cases are infected with the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2. The source of the cluster remains unknown.
Photo courtesy of the Taoyuan City Department of Environmental Protection
The newly reported cluster case was a female employee of the preschool, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, told a daily news conference in Taipei.
The woman, who is in her 70s, had been in isolated from Sept. 5 to Sunday at a centralized facility, the center said.
She tested negative twice and had no symptoms while in isolation, but was tested again on Tuesday after developing a sore throat and confirmed to have COVID-19, it said.
The other new case was a New Taipei City woman in her 80s who was tested at a hospital on Tuesday while seeking medical attention for reasons unrelated to COVID-19, the center said.
The CECC also reported 10 imported cases: two arrivals from Japan, four from the US, as well as one each from India, Indonesia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.
Their dates of entry were between Aug. 31 and Tuesday, the CECC said.
The cases — aged 20 to 39 — were all asymptomatic, CECC data showed.
Of the imported cases, six were breakthrough infections, said Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), who is deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division.
As of yesterday, Taiwan had confirmed 16,115 COVID-19 cases, including 14,409 domestic infections reported since May 15, the first day since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic that Taiwan recorded more than 100 cases in a single day.
With no new deaths reported for the sixth consecutive day, the number of confirmed COVID-19 fatalities in the country remained at 839, with all but 12 recorded since May 15, CECC data showed.
Additional reporting by CNA
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