The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 10 local cases of COVID-19 and 44 imported cases.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that the 10 local cases are five people who tested positive after being placed in isolation, a case linked to a family cluster in New Taipei City and four new cases reported in Kaohsiung with unclear connections to previous cases.
The five cases who tested positive during isolation include two relatives of previous cases linked to the Re-Yi Distribution Service Co cluster in Taoyuan, Chen said.
Photo courtesy of the Pingtung County Government
Although the two people are Miaoli County residents, they were visiting their relatives in Taoyuan when their relatives were diagnosed with COVID-19, so they isolated in Taoyuan and the infection risk has not increased in Miaoli, he said.
The three other cases are linked to a preschool cluster in Taipei — a preschool child and two family members of infected children, he said.
The case linked to the family cluster in New Taipei City, which was reported on Tuesday — two sisters and their parents — is the mother of a close friend of the younger sister, he said, adding that the infection source of the cluster is still under investigation.
Photo courtesy of the Pingtung County Government
The four Kaohsiung cases are three relatives who attended a Lunar New Year family reunion and a close friend of one of them, he said, adding that contact tracing is ongoing and the infection source is not yet known.
Among the 44 imported cases, 25 people tested positive upon arrival and 19 people tested positive during quarantine, he said.
A member of the national women’s soccer team who returned from India on Tuesday tested positive at the airport, he said.
She and six other squad members who were confirmed with COVID-19 in India were taken to hospitals, he added.
Addressing public concerns that there might be a “big outbreak” of local cases following the Lunar New Year holiday, Chen said that a large outbreak such as 100,000 cases a day in Japan or more than 30,000 cases a day in South Korea has not been observed in Taiwan, but the nation must still remain vigilant.
The center continues to monitor previous transmission chains with unknown infection sources and is paying close attention to four new clusters with unclear infection sources, he said.
Asked if the people who tested positive during or upon ending isolation might have contracted the disease in quarantine facilities, Chen said that some of the cases might have been infected before being ordered to isolate, but did not test positive until several days later when the viral load increased.
Sixteen previous imported cases quarantined in eight hotels since December last year have been reclassified as local cases, as they are suspected to have contracted the disease at the facilities, he said, adding that the rooms were emptied and thoroughly disinfected.
Separately, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said that if the local COVID-19 situation remains under control with few local cases with unknown infection sources, the city would further ease COVID-19 restrictions from Tuesday next week.
The eased restrictions include allowing people to eat and drink in movie theaters, removing the visitor capacity limits and reservation-only rules for social education venues such as Taipei Zoo and Taipei Astronomical Museum.
They also include reopening meal-sharing sessions for elderly people, classes at community care centers and senior service centers, and allowing schools to rent their facilities, stage sporting competitions, and conduct field and graduation trips.
Additional reporting by CNA
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