EVA Air pilots confirmed as delta infections in Taiwan

Three EVA Air pilots and one family member have all been confirmed to have contracted the delta variant of COVID-19, according to Taiwan’s coronavirus task force.

The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced on Monday (Sept. 6) that case Nos. 16,119, 16,120, and 16,100 were all infected with delta, but the genome sequencing results indicate a difference with case No. 16,066, who also has a delta infection.

The four cases include three EVA Air pilots and the son of one of them. The cluster marks the second community spread event of the highly transmissible COVID strain, following the one in Pingtung in June, which saw 17 infections originating from a pair of family members returning from Peru.

The high school the infected student attends was closed for two weeks in a precautionary measure. A total of 2,855 people either from the school or EVA Air have since undergone screenings, and all results came back negative.

The incident has catapulted the nation, which has largely brought COVID under control, into renewed alert. A debate is being rekindled about the necessity of tightening quarantine rules for air flight crew, who were blamed for the largest community break in Taiwan during mid-May. www.taiwannews.com.tw