Taipei, Yilan COVID-19 clusters confirmed as Omicron
ROC Central News Agency
01/26/2022 07:01 PM
Taipei, Jan. 26 (CNA) Taiwan recorded 46 new domestic COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, and two clusters of unknown origin in Taipei and Yilan County have been confirmed as Omicron variant infections, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
Of the 46 new cases, one was recorded in the Taipei cluster, bringing the total to six, and two were linked to the cluster at the Evergreen Resort Hotel Jiaosi in Yilan County, which now stands at eight cases.
Preliminary genome sequencing showed that cases in the two clusters are the Omicron variant, but the virus sequences differ from each other as well as from the versions circulating in the Taoyuan outbreak and the cluster at the Port of Kaohsiung, CECC official Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) said at a press briefing.
The CECC is in the process of comparing the genome sequences of the viruses in these two clusters to previously recorded imported cases to determine the source of the infections, Lo said.
Taoyuan, Kaohsiung Port cases
The Taoyuan outbreak mentioned by Lo originated from Taoyuan International Airport in early January, after which related clusters have sprung up at a social club, factories, a bank, a Tasty steakhouse, and most recently at the Farglory Free Trade Zone (FTZ).
Fourteen people linked to the FTZ tested positive on Wednesday, bringing the number of cases there to 116, CECC data shows.
The cluster at the Port of Kaohsiung, meanwhile, is suspected to have begun with a maintenance worker at the port who came into contact with people on board a Sierra Leone-flagged vessel.
The cluster recorded 12 cases on Wednesday, and the total now stands at 64, according to the CECC.
The figures do not include four cases reclassified as domestic in early January, nor retroactively removed cases. The number of imported and locally transmitted infections recorded in 2022 totaled 1,100 and 374, respectively, as of Jan. 26.
Other domestic cases
Among the remaining domestic cases recorded Wednesday, 14 were part of three clusters in Taoyuan, also with unknown infection sources, Health and Welfare Minister and CECC head Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said.
One of the clusters is centered on a man in Longtan District, and the other two are at a preschool and hotpot restaurant, both in Bade District. The three clusters total 20 cases so far, and the CECC is still looking into how these individuals became infected, according to Chen.
The source of another new case in Taoyuan, a woman in her 20s who tested positive after displaying symptoms, is also under investigation, as are two cases recorded at the Far Eastern Memorial Hospital in New Taipei, Chen said.
The two cases at the hospital are a woman in her 70s, who was admitted to the hospital on Jan. 4 for reasons unrelated to COVID-19, and her son, who has been accompanying her throughout her stay, Chen said.
People they were in contact with at the hospital, including patients who were staying in the same room as them, have tested negative for COVID-19, the hospital said in a statement.
Imported cases
In addition to the domestic cases, Taiwan also recorded 46 imported cases on Wednesday. Of these, 25 tested positive upon arrival in the country on Tuesday, and the other 21 tested positive during quarantine.
The CECC did not release any information regarding the vaccination status of the imported cases.
To date, Taiwan has confirmed 18,503 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in early 2020, including 14,974 domestically transmitted infections.
With no deaths reported on Wednesday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the country remained at 851.
(By Chiang Yi-ching)
Enditem/HY
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