The line for COVID-19 testing stretched a kilometer long in a rural township in southern Taiwan on Monday. The rush for screening in Fangliao Township comes as authorities in Pingtung County scramble to contain an outbreak involving the highly transmissible Delta variant of the virus.
Many of the people waiting to get tested in Fangliao were visitors to a hospital where two COVID patients were treated.
The recent cluster of cases centered in Pingtung County has seen about a dozen cases of COVID-19. Authorities have confirmed at least eight to be infections with the Delta variant of the virus, which was first identified in India.
On Sunday, authorities confirmed a case of COVID-19 in Pingtung’s Fangliao Township. Officials are working to identify the source of the infection, and it is still unclear whether or not the patient contracted the Delta variant. One potential source is Fangliao General Hospital. The patient had recently visited the hospital multiple times, including on June 16, when another confirmed case was also receiving treatment at the hospital.
Authorities say it is unlikely the two cases are linked, because the two patients visited different parts of the hospital at different times. But as a precautionary measure, they have closed the hospital’s outpatient clinic and emergency room for sterilization. In addition, officials have placed 205 people in government quarantine centers. They have also sent text messages warning of possible contact to everyone who has visited the hospital since June 16, and set up a rapid testing station at Fangliao Elementary School.
People traveled all the way from neighboring Taitung County to receive testing in Fangliao on Monday. At the moment, authorities are carrying out PCR tests for people who visited the hospital for treatment or accompanied receiving treatment. Starting Tuesday, testing will be available for residents of Fangliao and Chunri Townships.