TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taoyuan City Mayor Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said Wednesday (Feb. 3) that the Taoyuan General Hospital, the epicenter of a recent domestic coronavirus outbreak, could resume operations as early as Saturday (June 6) once it receives clearance from local health authorities.

Since two medical workers at the Taoyuan General Hospital tested positive for coronavirus on Jan. 11, the number of infections tied to the cluster infection has increased to 19. On Wednesday, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) launched mass "COVID-19 elimination" testing for all staff members at the hospital to eradicate the risk of potential carriers.

Approximately 2,136 hospital employees and contract workers have been asked to undergo polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and antibody tests under the new policy. Public areas of the institution are also being checked for traces of COVID.

During a press interview on Wednesday, Cheng pointed out that the mass testing campaign is expected to be completed by Friday (Feb. 5). He said the Taoyuan General Hospital could resume limited services on Saturday if all tests come back negative, but the decision would have to be made after close evaluation.

Cheng added that the city government will hold a meeting with the 11 hospitals in charge of coronavirus patients on Monday (Feb. 8). He said they will go over epidemic prevention measures for the Lunar New Year holiday as well as check each facility's capacity, reported Now News.