Five New Cases Reported in Taichung 台中清水5孟加拉籍船員確診 曾赴全聯

Five new COVID-19 cases have been reported in Taichung, and all involve Bangladeshi crew members who tested positive after completing their quarantine. The authority announed that the five shopped at two PX Mart outlets on the evenings of Dec. 3 and 5 and were masked up the entire time.

Disease prevention workers launched a wide-scale disinfection operation early in the morning. On the evening of Dec. 6 in Taichung's Qingshui District, five Bangladeshi crew members were taken away by ambulance. Residents panicked when they heard the news, as they suspected these crew members had tested positive for COVID-19.

Chen Shih-chung, Commander, Central Epidemic Command Center: “What I know is that they tested positive after their quarantine ended. ”

The city's Health Bureau has confirmed that these five people were all foreigners who entered Taiwan from abroad, and four of them had received one or two vaccine doses. Before their quarantine ended, throat and nasal specimens were collected for testing, and all came back negative. As they were set to board ships to begin working, they took PCR tests, which came back positive. The Ct value was high, and the bureau has already isolated them and is contact tracing. It has been reported that the five shopped at two PX Mart outlets on the evenings of Dec. 3 and 5. They were masked up the entire time, and the outlets closed on Dec. 7 for disinfection.

Wu Ya-ling, Director, Disease Control Div., Taichung City Health Bureau: “After this bureau was notified, it immediately launched an investigation to clarify facts and trace contacts. We also arranged for drivers to get tested and undergo self-health testing. We informed the Environmental Protection Bureau so that it could disinfect the public places where they were known to have been.”

In other news, starting from Jan. 1, all personnel employed at schools between the kindergarten and senior high school level will only be allowed to work if 14 days have passed since their second vaccine dose. Taipei's Department of Education worries that it's hard to reach this objective when people are responsible for making their own appointments.

Chen Shih-chung, Commander, Central Epidemic Command Center: “If they don't have time to make appointments, then they can go to Taipei Main Station to get vaccinated. There are many ways to get it done. The 10 days include a Sunday and a Saturday. There are also places offering nighttime vaccination. So, it's probably not hard to complete this thing within 10 days.”

Taiwan has 34,000 Moderna vaccines that expire on Dec. 7. Central Epidemic Command Center Commander Chen Shih-chung said there was a lot of pressure to use them up and they have done everything they could to prevent them from being wasted.

 

防疫人員一早就進行大規模環境清消，6日晚間，台中市清水區傳出一處社區，5位孟加拉籍船員緊急被救護車載走，一度造成住戶恐慌。

中央流行疫情指揮中心指揮官陳時中說明:「我知道的是應該是檢疫期滿被檢驗出來的。」

根據台中市衛生局查證，這5人都是境外移入個案，而且其中4人已打1到2劑新冠疫苗，檢疫期滿前也做過鼻咽採檢，結果是陰性。近期因為要再登船，進行PCR檢驗，沒想到5人都呈現陽性，Ct值偏高，衛生局已立即隔離安置，目前正進行疫調。據了解，這五名個案足跡，12月3日、5日晚間都曾到住處附近兩家全聯超市購物，不過外出有全程佩戴口罩，店家也在7日閉店清消。

台中市衛生局疾病管制科科長吳雅玲表示:「本局昨天接獲通知之後，立即展開疫調持續釐清足跡，安排接駁的司機檢驗及自我健康檢測，通知環保局針對已知的公共場域進行環境清消。」

另外針對明年元旦起，教育部主管高中以下學校及幼兒園等，相關從業人員強制要求接種兩劑疫苗，滿14天才可上工，北市教育局擔心，第二劑疫苗覆蓋率因為自行預約難以掌控，恐趕不上新制規定。

中央流行疫情指揮中心指揮官陳時中回應:「如果造冊來不及，那你就北車也可以打，所以管道是多的，10天，我現在有包含一個禮拜天、一個禮拜六，那晚上也有夜間施打點，所以應該是10天來完成這個事情應該不難。」

至於3.4萬劑莫德納即將在7日到期，陳時中表示，壓力確實大，但已經盡最大努力加快施打速度，不讓疫苗過期報廢。