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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Factory to remain closed as cases rise
Workers disinfect a washing area at a school in Kaohsiung yesterday. Photo: CNA
/ Staff writer, with CNA
A factory in New Taipei City operated by Career Technology Co （嘉聯益） is to remain closed after recording 15 COVID-19 infections as of yesterday, the Central Epidemic Command Center （CECC） said.
The 15 people — who were among 37 domestically transmitted cases reported by the center yesterday — are employees at the plant in Shulin District （樹林）, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung （陳時中）, who heads the center, told the CECC’s daily news conference.
The factory was closed on Wednesday after an initial case was reported, and although the company had planned to resume production yesterday, the premises would remain closed for the time being while the CECC assesses the situation, Chen said.
Further tests of factory employees returned an additional 14 positive results, and more tests would be conducted at the Shulin plant and the company’s Taoyuan site, he said.
The source of the cluster is still unknown, he said.
Career Technology, which supplies flexible printed circuit boards to Apple Inc, said in a statement yesterday that the confirmed cases “had no effect on the company’s overall operations and production.”
Among the other 22 new domestic cases recorded yesterday, 11 were employees at an Askey Computer Corp （亞旭電腦） factory in Taoyuan’s Farglory Free Trade Zone （遠雄自由貿易園區）, bringing the number of cases reported in the zone to 176, Chen said.
The Taoyuan cluster is linked to an outbreak of COVID-19 in the city that was traced to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in early January.
Six separate cases involved an extended family with members living in New Taipei City, Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, some of whom shared a meal in Kaohsiung and went on a trip to Miaoli County over the Lunar New Year holiday, Chen said.
The source of the family members’ infections is still under investigation, he said.
Yesterday’s five other domestic cases are four linked to a family in Kaohsiung, bringing the cluster of unknown origin to eight cases, and an employee at a tea shop in New Taipei City’s Sijhih District （汐止） who tested positive after showing symptoms and whose source of infection is also unknown, Chen said.
Twenty-six of the 37 new domestic cases recorded yesterday were of unknown origin, which is “worrying,” he said.
Among them, 19 had received two COVID-19 vaccine doses, four had gotten one dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna brands, and the vaccination status of the remaining 14 is still under investigation, the CECC said.
Taiwan also reported 46 imported cases yesterday.
Of them, 15 tested positive upon arrival in Taiwan, while the rest tested positive in quarantine.
The CECC did not release any information regarding the vaccination status of the imported cases.
In related news, elementary schools in Kaohsiung have delayed the start of the new semester by three days, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai （陳其邁） said.
The decision was made to safeguard the well-being of young children during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
Community infections are still sporadic within the city, he said.
A three-day delay would give the city government enough time to assess the situation and formulate an approach with more information, he said.
While elementary schools are to open on Monday next week, junior and senior high schools are to start the new semester today as scheduled, Chen Chi-mai said.
For parents of elementary-school students whose schedules are based on the new semester starting today, schools would provide a basic daycare service, he said.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
