Four Cases Found in Keelung Through Rapid Tests 基隆傳4例快篩.PCR陽性 相關疫調進行中

Keelung started providing residents with free rapid test kits on April 5. By the end of the day, four people had tested positive. They took PCR tests, which also came back positive. The cases included a Keelung City Government employee.

People began lining up before 9 a.m. outside a borough chief's office to get free home COVID-19 test kits.

Ms. Yu, Keelung City Resident: “I came to get one because of my work. It gives me an extra layer of security.”

The Keelung City Government began handing out free test kits to residents on April 5. By the end of the day, four people tested positive, and their infections were then confirmed by PCR tests. One of the four is a Keelung City Government employee, and the epidemic investigation is underway.

Lin Yu-chang, Keelung City Mayor: “There were positive results after we started handing out the free test kits yesterday. We found about two cases with unknown sources, so we were able to immediately take measures to block the transmission chains.”

Keelung City Mayor Lin Yu-chang said city government employees are staggering work hours, and vowed that official business won't lead to any breaches. The city continues to distribute the test kits, and it expects to hand out 130,000 over five days. Some borough chiefs are worried that there won't be enough to go around.

Wu Ming-tsung, Chief, Fumin Borough, Keelung City: “There are about 3,000 eligible people, but I only received 365, so there's no way that everyone can get one.”

The number of domestically-transmitted cases exceeded 100 every day during the Qingming Festival long weekend. There are currently multiple transmission chains of unknown origin, and experts say the priority right now should be boosting the senior citizen vaccination coverage rate to avoid becoming another Hong Kong or Japan.

Lee Ping-ing, Member, Specialist Advisory Panel, CECC: “The senior citizen vaccination coverage rate is lower. If a cluster infection occurs at an elderly care facility, then perhaps our proportion of so-called mild cases will immediately change and the proportion of severe cases will quickly skyrocket.”

Experts say reopening the border will cause infections to increase, and other places around the world have all gone through this. They believe this widespread infection situation will last at least through the end of the year, so people need to continue washing their hands frequently and wearing masks. People should also get boosters when they are eligible.

上午9時不到，就有民眾湧入里辦公室，排隊領取快篩試劑。

基隆市民眾余小姐說：「因為工作的關係，所以要來領取，就是多一份保障、多一份安全。」

基隆市府推動「愛心篩檢」計畫，5日開始上路，沒想到才一天就傳出有4例快篩陽性，經PCR採檢也是陽性確診，其中包括一名市府員工，相關疫調正在進行中。

基隆市長林右昌表示：「昨天的愛心篩檢的成果是有的，因為可以找出大概有2個不明的感染來源，讓我們能夠立即的採取措施，來阻斷這個傳播鏈。」

林右昌表示，市府已緊急啟動分流，絕對不會讓相關建設或公務出現空窗期，而快篩試劑也持續分區發放中，預計5天要發出13萬劑，不過有里長擔心，民眾領取踴躍，快篩試劑恐怕會不夠發。

基隆市富民里長吳明宗指出：「符合資格的差不多3千多人，它只有發那個365劑，所以沒辦法說每個人都有。」

由於清明連假期間，本土單日確診天天破百例，有專家擔憂，現在不明感染源的傳播鏈很多，目前當務之急，是要把長者的疫苗覆蓋率再提高，才能避免步上香港跟日本後塵。

中央流行疫情指揮中心專家諮詢小組委員李秉穎說明：「老人的疫苗接種率比較低，而且我們有很多老人的安養機構，萬一發生群聚的時候，可能馬上就會改變所謂的輕症比例，可能重症比例就會急速上升。」

專家強調，邊境開放必然會造成染疫人數增加，世界各國也都經歷同樣過程，預估大規模感染情況，可能會持續到年底，因此民眾仍要勤洗手、戴口罩，青少年疫苗追加劑、若時間到了，也建議儘快開打第三劑，把疫苗缺口補上。