Taiwan on Monday confirmed six new domestic COVID-19 cases, all linked to Taoyuan International Airport, and 26 new imported cases, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
The six new cases, which include one confirmed by the CECC late Sunday evening, bring the total number of domestic COVID-19 infections linked to the airport reported in the past week to 30.
The new cases include two airport workers who handle luggage carts, and relatives and friends of people who have contracted the disease. Three of the six have been classified as breakthrough infections, while one of those infected had received one Pfizer-BioNTech jab, the CECC said.
The remaining two individuals are under 10 years old and had not received a COVID-19 vaccine shot. The elementary schools they study at, which are both located in Taoyuan’s Zhongli District, will suspend in-person classes for 14 days, according to notices sent out to parents of the students.
Two relatives of the newly confirmed COVID-19 cases attend junior high schools in Taoyuan, and as a precaution, both schools suspended classes on Monday, the CECC said.
Of the 30 domestic infections linked to the airport, 11 have been confirmed as Omicron cases as of Monday.
Based on genome sequencing results, nine have been confirmed as part of one cluster, while another — a taxi driver tasked with taking passengers to and from quarantine facilities — has been found to have been infected by a passenger in late December.
Full genome sequencing has not yet been completed on one other case, involving an infant under two years of age, to determine whether his infection is linked to the aforementioned cluster, the CECC said.
In addition to the domestic cases, Taiwan also reported 26 imported cases on Monday. The CECC did not release any information regarding the vaccination status of the imported cases.
To date, Taiwan has confirmed 17,393 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in early 2020, of which 14,635 are domestic infections. Taiwan has recorded 31 domestic cases in January so far, all but one linked to Taoyuan International Airport.
With no deaths reported Monday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the country remains at 850. Taiwan last reported a death related to COVID-19 on Dec. 19.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel