Taiwan reports 98 new COVID-19 cases, including 5 domestic

ROC Central News Agency

03/21/2022 02:59 PM

Taipei, March 21 (CNA) Taiwan on Monday reported 98 new COVID-19 cases -- five domestically transmitted and 93 that originated abroad -- and no new deaths from the disease, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

Of the new domestic cases, four were guests at a wedding in Chiayi City on March 13, CECC spokesperson Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said. Two of them live in Chiayi City, one in Chiayi County, and the other in Yunlin County, he said.

To date, nine guests at the wedding and a relative of one of them have tested positive for COVID-19, the CECC said, adding that it was still trying to trace the source of the cluster.

The fifth domestic case was a Tainan resident who tested positive while in quarantine, and her infection is related to a cluster of 30 cases, which was first identified at a buffet restaurant in Kaohsiung, Chuang said.

In all five of the new domestic cases, the patients had received either two or three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the CECC.

Currently, the CECC said, it is monitoring five domestic clusters and three individual cases in Taiwan.

Genome sequencing conducted in four of the clusters and one individual case found that the infections were caused by two different versions of the Omicron virus variant, according to the CECC.

In addition to the five new domestic cases recorded Monday, the CECC also reported 93 imported cases, including 42 travelers who tested positive on arrival in Taiwan. The CECC did not release any information regarding the vaccination status of the imported cases.

To date, Taiwan has confirmed 22,003 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in early 2020, including 15,508 domestically transmitted infections.

With no deaths reported Monday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 fatalities in the country remained at 853.

(By Chiang Yi-ching)

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