New Taipei City yesterday raised its COVID-19 alert to “augmented level 2” after tests indicated that the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 could be the cause of a cluster of infections at a kindergarten in Banciao District (板橋).
The heightened state of alert would remain in effect until Sept. 21 in response to the cluster that has been linked to 15 cases, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) told a news conference.
Preliminary tests by the Central Epidemic Command Center have ruled out the Alpha variant of SARS-CoV-2 — the main variant in Taiwan — as the cause of the outbreak, with further test results expected to be announced today.
If the preschool cluster is confirmed to be the Delta variant, the city government would reimpose a ban on dine-in services, Ho said, adding that the center could reimpose a level 3 alert in the city.
Under the “augmented level 2 alert,” hospitals, long-term care facilities and nursing homes are to close their doors to visitors and limit residents to one carer, he said.
The capacity of indoor venues is to be reduced to 50 people, open-air venues are to cut capacity to 100 people and enhanced entry controls would be required, he added.
The unnamed private kindergarten has been ordered to suspend classes for 14 days and an elementary school in the same district has closed for three days, Hou said.
Children and teachers at the kindergarten have been placed in quarantine and each child is staying with one parent at a quarantine hotel, he said.
Additionally, the city is to set up 32 new centers to administer COVID-19 tests, increase the number of specialists at hospitals and increase quarantine hotel capacity, he added.
The Delta variant is more virulent than the Alpha variant and its spread in the densely populated city must be checked, Hou said.
Asked about his city’s response to the cluster, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said that he would review whether the existing protocols are adequate for combating the Delta variant.
Taipei officials would prepare a response after giving due consideration to international medical advice, he said, adding that the city government must avoid creating a panic.
In light of the New Taipei City cluster, a number of local governments have announced a ban on barbecues in public areas during the Mid-Autumn Festival on Sept. 21.
As of press time last night, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Keelung, Yilan County, Hsinchu City, Hsinchu County, Taichung, Nantou County, Yunlin County, Chiayi City, Chiayi County, Kaohsiung and Hualien County had issued a ban.
Additional reporting by Yang Hsin-hui
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS