Taiwan reported on Saturday eight new domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases, five of which are linked to a self-service restaurant in Kaohsiung, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
Cases linked to Kaohsiung restaurant
In a video statement, CECC spokesperson Chuang Jen-hsiang (???) said three of the five infections were family members of a self-service restaurant worker in her 30s who was confirmed as having COVID-19 on Friday.
According to the CECC, the worker had traveled with her parents and sister in Hualien and Taitung counties in eastern Taiwan from Feb. 27- March 1.
The mother began developing a cough on Feb. 24, while the sister developed a cough and runny nose on March 1, the CECC spokesman said, adding that the father was so far asymptomatic.
All three individuals have been tested twice for COVID-19, with cycle threshold (CT) values ranging from 15-21 in the first try, while their second returned lower CT values, indicating a rising viral load, Chuang said.
Patients in Tainan, New Taipei
Meanwhile, the two other cases linked to the Kaohsiung restaurant are individuals from New Taipei and Tainan who are contacts of the parents, Chuang said, adding that the couple had also traveled with some 30 people as part of a tour group from Feb. 20-22 prior to their family excursion.
The number of infections linked to the Kaohsiung restaurant so far is six, he added.
According to the city government, the Tainan contact involved a man in his 60s who had received two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and a Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT) booster shot.
It said the individual developed a cough and runny nose on Feb. 28, just a few days after traveling with the tour group.
The city government added that a total of 24 contacts had been identified and asked to either quarantine at home or observe self-health management protocols.
Also Saturday, the New Taipei City government said that a local case reported by the CECC involved a woman in her 70s from Zhonghe District who had received two COVID-19 vaccine shots and a booster jab.
The woman is currently being treated in a hospital isolation ward, it said.
Taoyuan preschool cluster
Meanwhile, of the eight new domestic cases reported Saturday, three were connected to a previous cluster at the private Midi Preschool in Taoyuan.
Taoyuan City Department of Public Health said the three new cases tested positive during quarantine and therefore posed no health risk to the local community.
In addition to the domestic cases, the CECC also reported 72 imported cases on Saturday, 41 of them travelers who tested positive on arrival in Taiwan. The CECC did not release any information regarding the vaccination status of the imported cases.
To date, Taiwan has confirmed 20,797 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in early 2020, including 15,459 domestically transmitted infections.
With no deaths reported Saturday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 fatalities in the country remained at 853.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel