News
CECC reports 65 new Covid cases
The Central Epidemic Command Center(CECC) is reporting 17 new domestic and 48 imported Covid-19 cases.
All but three of the domestic cases are linked to the wider outbreak in Taoyuan.The CECC says of the 90 domestic cases recorded so far; a third have been tracedback to the omicron variant.
But health officials admit that tests for variants in the other cases have either not been completed or the viral load was too low to get a result.
Of the latest 17 new domestic cases, 14 are linked to a steakhouse, including an employee, 10 customers who dined there, and three contacts of customers who previously tested positive.
Health Minister Chen Shih-chung is urging everyone who ate at the restaurant from between 7-12 January to get tested for the coronavirus.
The three other local cases are the boyfriend of a nurse at Renai Branch of Taipei City Hospital; a man who went to a Taoyuan hospital after a car accident, and a nurse who works at Far Eastern Memorial Hospital.
Of the 48 imported cases, health officials say of those cases, 37 tested positive on arriving in Taiwan, while the other 11 tested positive during their quarantine period.
The CECC has not revealed the vaccination status of the imported cases.
No new deaths are being reported.
Meanwhile, health officials saythey are changing the way travellers are being triaged if they arrive in Taiwan on long-haul flights and test positive for the coronavirus at the airport.
Under the new policy, those who test positive, are aged between 20 and 39, and who have mild symptoms or are asymptomatic, will be sent to a government-run centre or placed in a quarantine hotel, instead of being admitted to a medical facility.
The move is aimed at reducing the burden of local hospitals.
In other Covid news, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said yesterday that the CECC will deliberate shortening quarantine periods for new arrivals in the future.
Chen said observations have shown the incubation period between infection and symptom onset has become shorter.
The health minister said Taiwan will continue to observe the global situation before making any concrete decisions.
He encouraged people to exercise vigilance but not allow the current pandemic situation to prevent them from interacting with society, interrupting the regular flow of daily life.
