No plans to cancel lantern fest
READY TO ADAPT: If the COVID-19 situation changes, adjustments would be made to the festival, which is to be held in an open area this year, the transport minister said
By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter
Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday said that his ministry has not yet considered canceling the Taiwan Lantern Festival in Hsinchu City, adding that it would make adjustments depending on changes to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Lin was responding to questions from the media about whether the Tourism Bureau might consider canceling the annual flagship tourism event due to a cluster infection at a hospital in Taoyuan.
The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported the fifth COVID-19 case in a cluster infection at a Taoyuan hospital, where four other medical workers were confirmed to have been infected over the past week.
The latest case is a nurse who had tested negative on Tuesday last week, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, told a news conference.
However, on Thursday, she developed symptoms, such as nasal congestion and a cough, and a second test yesterday found that she was infected, Chen said.
She is the head nurse of a ward where two
Health and Welfare Minister Chen Shih-chung. Photo courtesy of the CECC, Jan. 18, 2021
Taipei, Jan. 18 (CNA) The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced Monday that it will set up a command post at a Taoyuan government hospital where five medical workers have tested positive for COVID-19, as well as implement additional safety measures to prevent further spread of the disease.
The command post will be in charge of coordinating communication and other efforts taken by the hospital, local health authorities, government quarantine centers, experts, and the CECC, in response to the cluster infection, said Health and Welfare Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC.