A quarantine hotel in Taoyuan has been the site of a new outbreak of the Delta variant of COVID-19. Eight people staying on three separate floors were reported ill on Thursday.
One of the eight has a viral load that is too low to allow for genetic sequencing of the virus, but the remaining seven have all contracted the Delta variant.
On Friday, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said that further investigation will be needed to determine whether the virus had spread between different floors of the hotel.
He said that an initial examination of the hotel indicates that the virus had spread through the environment. However, he said it is still too early to tell whether air conditioning may have been responsible for the virus’ spread.
He also said that while the hotel staff has been diligent in following rules designed to prevent infection, it is easy for those who have not undergone basic training to overlook some small details that could allow disease to spread. He said that for this reason, the Central Epidemic Command Center is bringing together experts to inspect procedures at all quarantine hotels.
He said that these experts will also call for improvements to air conditioning systems to prevent any spread of COVID-19. He said that any hotel that sees a serious outbreak after these inspections are over could lose its status as a quarantine facility.