The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday ordered the suspension of work at an electronics company where a cluster of 182 COVID-19 infections was reported. It also ordered all migrant workers at the firm to enter home isolation.
King Yuan Electronics, a chip testing and packaging service provider based in Hsinchu City that employs many migrant workers at its two factories in Miaoli County, last week conducted rapid COVID-19 tests on all of its more than 7,000 employees after several migrant workers tested positive.
The CECC yesterday said that 182 confirmed cases — including 24 Taiwanese and 158 foreigners — were reported at King Yuan Electronics, and 399 close contacts had as of Saturday been identified.
Two other electronics companies in Miaoli County each had 12 COVID-19 cases among their employees, the center said, adding that these cases are two Taiwanese and 22 foreigners.
Contact tracing is being conducted, it said.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that the CECC ordered King Yuan Electronics to take five measures to rein in the spread of the disease.
Among the measures was that the firm’s “migrant workers are suspended from work and must practice home isolation, but they will continue to receive full pay,” Chen said.
Those who work in the firm’s high-risk areas would quarantine at centralized facilities, while those working in lower-risk areas were ordered to isolate in their dormitories, where they would practice self-health management, Chen said.
Contact tracing would focus on the Taiwanese who were confirmed to have the virus’ so that their close contacts could immediately be placed under home isolation, Chen said, adding that all employees who tested negative were ordered to practice enhanced self-health management.
All employees who tested positive isolate at hospitals, Chen said.
King Yuan Electronics would be allowed to resume partial operations under a site-specific COVID-19 prevention program once on-site inspections by the Industrial Development Bureau, Center for Disease Control physicians and the company management have cleared the facilities, Chen said.
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