Coronavirus: Global situation

Taiwan sees 2nd record jump in community infections in a week

People inquiring about Covid-19 vaccinations at the Far Eastern Memorial Hospital in New Taipei City, Taiwan, on Thursday. Mounting infections have led to a renewed interest in vaccinations on the island.
People inquiring about Covid-19 vaccinations at the Far Eastern Memorial Hospital in New Taipei City, Taiwan, on Thursday. Mounting infections have led to a renewed interest in vaccinations on the island. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

Taiwan saw a record rise in community transmission of Covid-19 yesterday with 29 new cases, including 16 linked to a cluster involving teahouses in Taipei's red-light district.

This was a second record jump in a week, after 16 new cases were reported across the island on Wednesday. The increases have alarmed Taiwanese who, fearing a possible lockdown, have rushed to stock up on essentials.

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je has said that bars, dance clubs, karaoke lounges, nightclubs, saunas and Internet cafes as well as hostess clubs and teahouses in the city will be closed from today until further notice.

Health Minister Chen Shih-chung told a news conference yesterday that many of the 29 new cases were connected to a cluster which arose from teahouses in Taipei's Wanhua district.

Hostesses and patrons were among the confirmed cases, said the Central Epidemic Command Centre, and some of those infected had also visited temples, restaurants and markets in central and southern Taiwan.

Dr Chen called for everyone who believed that they may have come into contact with an infected patient to get tested at rapid testing stations set up around Wanhua.

"The sooner testing happens, the sooner the chain of transmission can be broken," he said.

The island, which has been praised for its highly effective Covid-19 response, has been hit with a string of clusters since late last month.

The surge in infections began with several China Airlines crew members and their families, and this later spread to staff at a hotel being used for quarantine at Taoyuan International Airport. Hotel staff subsequently infected family members.

In northern Taoyuan, the city government has decided to shut entertainment venues from today until June 8.

Another cluster formed in north-eastern Taiwan's Yilan county on Wednesday, centred on an amusement arcade. One customer and several arcade staff were infected.

A further cluster was detected in Luzhou district in New Taipei City, involving members of the Lions Club International service organisation. One member in particular infected 20 of his friends.

Those in the Yilan, Luzhou, China Airlines and quarantine hotel clusters were infected with the coronavirus variant first detected in Britain, which National Taiwan University public health professor Chen Hsiu-hsi said was "extremely infectious or about three times more so than that of the strain first detected in Wuhan in China".

On Tuesday, the authorities had announced stricter measures for gatherings, dining at restaurants and taking public transportation islandwide, with the tough measures scheduled to last until June 8.

Prof Chen said: "I think it might be mid-June before things get better."

The island has so far recorded 1,290 confirmed cases, with 12 deaths.

Mounting infections have led to a renewed interest in vaccinations, with concerns over the AstraZeneca vaccine - the only one available on the island now - taking a back seat.

The number of people receiving shots in a day went from 3,690 on April 30 - 10 days after the airline cluster erupted - to over 10,000 a day on Thursday. Nearly 130,000 doses have been administered, which is roughly 41 per cent of what Taiwan has obtained.

President Tsai Ing-wen told a news conference on Thursday that a domestic vaccine was expected to become available to the public from late July.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 15, 2021, with the headline Taiwan sees 2nd record jump in community infections in a week. Subscribe