National Taiwan Ocean University Office of the International Affairs

Laboratory worker tested positive for COVID 19 – Taiwan’s first domestic case after more than a month. 

     A female laboratory worker from a high-security laboratory tested positive for COVID-19. The woman works at the Academica Sinica’s Institute of Biomedical Sciences (IBMS), a P3 or Biosafety Level 3 laboratory in Taiwan with the second-highest security rating.

     The woman might have contracted the virus while working in the lab. Health Minister Chen Shih-Chung, on a press briefing on December 9, 2021, confirmed the new COVID-19 infection. 

     The woman is the first case of a P3 lab member infected with the said virus in Taiwan. According to CEC advisor Chang Shan-Chwen, the woman was bitten by a mouse in the lab before testing positive, but it will still be for confirmation whether this is the cause of the virus infection.  In a P3 lab facility, the staff is required to wear personal protective equipment, and access to such facility is restricted and controlled at all times. 

     The Health Department began tracking contracts with more than 85 individuals. Several businesses the patient visited in the Greater Taipei area were closed for disinfection. 

Source: https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4371080
              https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202112090022