A wide-scale COVID-19 screening program would be conducted in Keelung, offering government-funded at-home rapid test kits to 360,000 local residents in light of a cluster that has expanded to 68 cases, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said yesterday.
The virus seems to have been spreading in communities in Keelung for quite some time and it would be difficult to find undetected cases at testing stations, Chen said during a visit to Keelung.
The details of the screening program, including the method to distribute and collect the kits, are still being discussed, said Chen, who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
Photo: Lu Hsien-hsiu, Taipei Times
The CECC yesterday reported 56 local COVID-19 infections.
There are 19 local transmission chains with unknown infection sources, it said, adding that the cluster in Keelung is the most concerning, as it involves several businesses and a school.
The Keelung cluster added 19 new cases yesterday, Chen said.
Photo courtesy of the Central Epidemic Command Center
It does not seem to be coming under control, so it must be closely monitored, he said.
A cluster involving workers at a chemical plant in Kaohsiung seems to be under control, as no new cases have been found in the past three days other than people who were already isolating at home, including one case confirmed yesterday — a family member of a previous case, Chen said.
Two local cases yesterday were linked to a cluster of infections in Taitung, he said.
Photo: CNA
They are a colleague of a previous case and a participant at a religious event that another previous case attended, he said.
The Taitung cluster has expanded to 11 cases, Chen said.
Six local cases were yesterday linked to a cluster involving workers at a technology firm in New Taipei City’s Shulin District (樹林), with four among them — three workers and a family member of a previous case — testing positive while isolating, while the other two workers had symptoms when under self-health management, he said.
The Shulin cluster has expanded to 29 cases, he said.
Genome sequencing showed that three cases in the Shulin cluster were infected with a new strain of the Omicron BA.2.3 subvariant of SARS-CoV-2, Chen said.
Six new cases were confirmed in a cluster involving residents of an apartment building in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和), Chen said.
They were: Two family members, two people at a clinic that previous cases had visited, a student at a cram school attended by a previous case and a person who visited the same place as a previous case, Chen said.
Twelve of yesterday’s new cases are linked to a cluster involving workers at a power plant construction site in Taoyuan and its dormitories in Hsinchu County, he said, adding that one of the cases is concerning, as he is a worker at a separate, larger construction site, so expanded testing is being conducted.
The Taoyuan cluster has expanded to 78 cases, he said.
A new case is linked to a cluster involving a salesperson in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重), with genome sequencing showing that the woman is infected with the BA.2 Omicron subvariant, the 23rd Omicron strain detected in Taiwan, Chen said.
Another case is a family member of a case in a Taipei cluster linked to a care worker and her employer, he said.
Other cases were: a resident of New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) who works at a massage parlor in Taipei; a police officer who works at a centralized quarantine facility in New Taipei City; two dance instructors in Taoyuan who taught classes in Taipei and Yilan; two Taipei residents and a Keelung resident who works in Kaohsiung who attended a wedding in Taichung; and a case reported in New Taipei City yesterday morning, Chen said.
The CECC yesterday also confirmed 107 imported cases.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old