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Taiwan reports 19 new COVID cases; karate team confirmed with Omicron

ROC Central News Agency

12/28/2021 04:14 PM

Taipei, Dec. 28 (CNA) Taiwan reported 19 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, and confirmed 14 previous cases as Omicron variant infections, including seven members of a team that represented Taiwan in a recent karate competition held in Kazakhstan, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

The 19 new cases were all Taiwanese nationals, who had returned to Taiwan from the United States, Switzerland, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Canada, Kazakhstan, Hong Kong, mainland China, and Turkey, CECC spokesperson Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said at a press briefing.

They tested positive either upon entry to Taiwan or before completing the mandatory quarantine required for all arrivals.

One of the new cases is a member of a 22-person team that traveled to Kazakhstan to participate in the 2021 Asian Karate Championships, Chuang said.

A total of 13 members of the team have tested positive since returning to Taiwan on Dec. 24, and genome sequencing completed Tuesday showed that seven of them were infected with the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus, Chuang said.

The CECC is working with the Sports Administration to determine what disease prevention measures were undertaken at the tournament in Kazakhstan, and will come up with suggestions for future sports delegations to follow, Chuang said,

The CECC will also ask the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to discuss whether athletes who have to travel abroad for an extended period of time can shorten the interval between their second and third vaccine doses, Chuang added.

Currently, people in Taiwan aged 18 and over can get a third vaccine booster shot five months after their second dose.

1. More AstraZeneca doses have been administered than have been officially received because medical workers can sometimes get more than the standard number of shots from a vial. 2. Information about the booster dose and additional dose can be found at https://t.ly/4ZuW

In addition to the seven members of the karate team, seven other previously reported cases were confirmed to be Omicron variant infections on Tuesday, bringing the total of such cases to 48, Chuang said.

To date, Taiwan has confirmed 16,950 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in early 2020, of which 14,436 are domestic infections reported since May 15, 2021, when the country first recorded more than 100 cases in a single day.

Daily domestic case numbers have fallen to mostly single digits or zero since Aug. 15. Ten such cases have been reported in December so far, including seven linked to cluster infections at quarantine hotels in Taipei and Taoyuan.

With no deaths reported Tuesday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the country remains at 850, with all but 12 recorded since May 15. Taiwan last reported a death related to COVID-19 on Dec. 19, according to the CECC.

(By Chiang Yi-ching)

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