Large-scale “bubble” plans exempting certain visitors from quarantine would be reviewed, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said yesterday, after three foreign visitors exempted under the rule tested positive for COVID-19.
Of 30 visitors invited to the Smart City Summit and Expo in Taipei, three have so far tested positive, while 27 are staying at a quarantine hotel, said Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), the Central Epidemic Command Center ’s (CECC) spokesman.
The CECC on Tuesday said that a visitor from Belize who was invited to the expo tested positive after arriving at a hotel on Monday.
Photo: CNA
A man from Poland and a woman from Paraguay who were also invited to the expo yesterday tested positive after attending the opening ceremony on Tuesday.
Eight Taiwanese secretaries who assisted the visitors have been placed under home isolation, and three drivers are being investigated after contact tracing, Chuang said, adding that Taipei City Government employees and related company workers who attended the opening ceremony are being asked to monitor their health.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) and Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花), who all attended the opening ceremony, tested negative for COVID-19 yesterday.
The cases sparked concern, as some of the visitors in the “bubble” who arrived on Monday were tested at the airport upon arrival, while others were tested after arriving at their hotel.
However, Chen on Tuesday said that the center only required them to be tested on the day of arrival.
Ko said that they were invited by the National Development Council.
Chen yesterday told the Legislative Yuan that the council’s original plan was to have the visitors tested at their hotels, but it submitted a revised plan on Friday last week, stating that they should be tested at the airport.
However, the plan had not yet been reviewed, Chen said.
Large-scale quarantine exemption “bubbles” would need to be under rolling review to gather the lessons learned from each case, he said.
Testing inbound travelers at airports is better, but even if they test negative, it does not mean that they will remain negative over the following few days, Ko said at Taipei City Hall.
Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) said that the visitors were escorted by designated staff and vehicles, and those who did not get tested at the airport were taken directly to their hotel, so there was no risk of spreading the virus to local communities.
They were tested again at the hotel yesterday morning, she added.
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