Same type of coronavirus found in patients in northern Taiwan clusters
ROC Central News Agency
05/15/2021 05:43 PM
Taipei, May 15 (CNA) The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) has found the same type of coronavirus in patients in cluster infections in Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan and Yilan, a health official said Saturday.
As of that day, 17 COVID-19 patients in the Novotel/China Airlines cluster in Taoyuan have contracted the same variant of the coronavirus found in at least 10 patients in a cluster recently found in New Taipei, CECC official Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) said during a press briefing, citing the latest genome sequencing results.
One patient in the cluster involving a games arcade in Yilan and at least four patients linked to the cluster infections in hostess teahouses in Taipei have also tested positive for the same coronavirus variant, which first emerged in the United Kingdom, Lo said.
Although the clusters have been found in different areas of northern Taiwan, the results have helped the health authorities establish links between the group infections, Lo said.
Lo also noted that there remains two other types of the U.K. variant of the virus previously found in three China Airlines (CAL) pilots, who stayed at the Novotel airport hotel and two of one pilot's family members.
The CECC has not determined the sources of more than 30 infections involving the Taiwanese carrier and the airport hotel it owns, which were first confirmed on April 20.
On Saturday, the CECC confirmed 180 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases in northern and central Taiwan, along with five imported cases, pushing the total number of cases in the country to 1,475 since the outbreak began in January 2020.
Of the total, 12 have died, while 347 are isolated in hospital, according to the CECC.
(By Chang Ming-hsuan, Wu Hsin-yun, Yu Hsiao-han and Kay Liu)
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