Domestic COVID-19 cases spike in Taiwan as clusters grow

ROC Central News Agency

03/27/2022 08:16 PM

Taipei, March 27 (CNA) The number of new domestic COVID-19 cases in Taiwan jumped to 83 Sunday, with at least six clusters reported throughout the country, according to Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中).

The biggest cluster, with 52 cases to date, was at a Datan Power Plant expansion project in Taoyuan, where migrant construction workers were tested after one of them developed COVID-19 symptoms on Saturday, Chen said at a press briefing.

Health authorities on Sunday tested 71 workers housed at the power plant's dormitory in Hsinchu County, and COVID-19 infections were found among three Taiwanese and 47 Thai workers, Chen said.

Another migrant worker and his girlfriend, who do not live on the dorm, also tested positive, bringing the total number of cases in the cluster to 52, as of Sunday, Chen said at the Central Epidemic Command Center's (CECC) daily briefing.

Further testing will be carried out at the construction project, he said.

Keelung cluster

In Keelung City, the number of domestic COVID-19 cases jumped from eight on Saturday to 27 on Sunday, when 19 new infections were reported.

According to Keelung Mayor Lin Yu-chang (林右昌), the eight cases recorded Saturday were all linked to a karaoke bar in the city.

The 19 new cases on Sunday were five employees at the bar, four patrons and four of their contacts, as well as six police officers, Lin said.

As three of the people in the cluster are students at Er Xin High School in Keelung, the school has suspended classes until April 6, and 3,350 students and staff members are being tested Sunday, Lin said.

The mayor also said he is now in 10-day quarantine, as he had come into contact with one of the police officers during an award event on March 24.

The service locations of the police officers who tested positive are spread throughout four precincts, and some 950 members of the city's police force were being tested for COVID-19, he said.

Other clusters around Taiwan

In New Taipei, two new cases were reported Sunday in a cluster linked to a TBI Motion Technology Co. factory in Shulin District, the CECC said.

The two new patients are the girlfriend of a Vietnamese factory worker, and her employer, Chen said.

Meanwhile, two new cases were reported in a cluster at a chemical plant in Kaohsiung's Qianzhen District, he said.

In Taitung, four family members tested positive for the virus, Chen said, adding that they do not all live together but have frequent contact.

Another cluster, linked to a saleswoman who lives in Sanchong District, New Taipei, recorded four new infections Sunday, he said.

(By James Lo)

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