Covid-19: New Wave Hits Taiwan's Main Station

TAIPEI CITY – A COVID-19 cluster has formed at Taipei Central Station in Taiwan, with four cleaners and three of their family members testing positive.

The Taipei City government has ordered all shops on the ground floor closed for disinfection. Stores are allowed to reopen this Wednesday, but only if all employees show proof of a negative PCR test.

The metal shutters on the first floor of Taipei’s main train station were closed as authorities scrambled to control the situation.

“Signs indicate stores will be closed July 25-27 for full disinfection. On Wednesday, these stores will be allowed to reopen, but only if all employees can demonstrate a negative PCR test,” reports Formosa TV.

“We have identified seven cases linked to Taipei Main Station. Three of the cases are cohabiting family members of known cases. Today we would like to share some information about case number 15,678 who lives with the second case we were talking about earlier, case number 15,669. This new case is a security guard at Taipei World’s B2 parking lot Trade Center, Hall One,” Taipei Deputy Mayor Huang Shan-shan said.

A cluster infection involving cleaners at Taipei’s main train station has risen to seven cases. Three of the cases are family members of station staff. Among these three people, one is a taxi driver and the other a security guard at the Taipei World Trade Center.

The local government released details of the whereabouts of the cases before they were diagnosed. One had gone to a Carrefour supermarket in the Beitou district.

Another had used public transport several times between July 18 and 22, including Route 22 operated by Metropolitan Transport, Route 266 operated by Danan Bus and Route 1 operated by Shin-shin Bus, as well as the line subway red in Taipei.

Officials say a worrying factor is that cleaners were working in locations outside Taipei Main Station.

“They are employees of a cleaning company, so they don’t just clean at Taipei Main Station. You don’t have a permanent job. They work in different areas in the Taipei metropolitan area so we’ve arranged for everyone in the company to take a PCR test,” also provided an update on Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je.

One of the cleaners was also stationed at the Hongwell Ruiguang office building in Neihu District.

Taipei City says all affected workplaces have already been disinfected. With Level 2 starting in a few hours, clusters like this show just how difficult it is to detect and break infection chains.