Keelung COVID-19 cluster linked to karaoke bar grows to 91 cases
ROC Central News Agency
03/31/2022 06:09 PM
Taipei, March 31 (CNA) The COVID-19 cluster linked to a karaoke bar in Keelung City increased to 91 cases on Thursday, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
Taiwan saw 87 new domestically-transmitted COVID-19 infections that day, 22 of which were reported in Keelung, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said at a press briefing.
The cluster which reported its first case late last week has since spread rapidly, with those infected by the disease ranging from police officers to school teachers, Chen said.
Based on genome sequencing, the health minister, who also heads the CECC, said the COVID-19 cases in Keelung have so far been linked to the same cluster infection.
In New Taipei, the cluster linked to the TBI Motion Technology Co. factory in Shulin District reported 13 new cases, bringing the total to 42 on Thursday.
Ten of the individuals were employees of the company who tested positive during quarantine, while one, also an employee, was found to have caught the disease during self-health management, Chen said. Meanwhile, the two others were non-employee contacts of earlier COVID-19 cases from the factory.
Currently, the situation at the company appears to be under control, he explained.
At the press event, the health minister said the cluster involving Datan Power Plant in Taoyuan saw 10 more COVID-19 cases, with the total number now at 88.
In Taichung, a cluster connected to a wedding banquet added nine new cases on Thursday, bringing the total cases to 12, he said.
Among those infected, some live in Taipei, Kaohsiung and outlying Kinmen County.
Contact tracing and identification of contacts have been challenging because not all the attendees live in Taichung, Chen explained.
According to Lo, the wedding party was held March 26, with some individuals displaying symptoms of the disease between March 28 and March 30.
Authorities are still looking into the possible sources of infection, pending results of genome sequencing, he added.
Meanwhile, the cluster linked to an apartment building in New Taipei's Zhonghe District saw seven new COVID-19 cases, of whom five tested positive for the disease at COVID-19 testing stations.
In addition, genome sequencing indicates that the cluster in Zhonghe and the one in Taitung County are linked, Chen said.
Elsewhere, the CECC also reported Thursday 12 new domestic COVID-19 cases, the sources of which have yet to be identified. One involved a female nurse in Hualien County.
Concerning the Hualien case, CECC official Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) said the nurse tested positive for the disease in southern Taiwan after coming down with breathing problems during a recent visit, and her cycle threshold (CT) value was 13, which indicates a high viral load.
However, Lo did not mention the city or county the woman visited, other than to say an investigation is ongoing.
During the press briefing, Chen said there is a chance Taiwan could see another new wave of COVID-19 as people travel around the country during the four-day long holiday weekend that starts on Saturday.
(By Chang Ming-hsuan, Chiang Hui-chun and Ko Lin)
Enditem/AW
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