TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An airport cleaner who has tested positive for the Omicron variant played mahjong at a social club packed with around 1,000 members to ring in the New Year.
On Wednesday (Jan. 5), news broke that case No. 17,239, a woman who works as a cleaner at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport had visited the Golden Voice Singers Club (金嗓歌友會) in Taoyuan City's Zhongli District from Dec. 29, 2021, to Jan. 2, 2022. That evening, KMT Legislator Lu Ming-che (魯明哲) posted "very worrying" photos of a New Year's Eve event at the KTV club attended by approximately 1,000 people.
The Taoyuan City Department of Public Health said the woman arrived at the event at 8:30 p.m., but did not participate in the main event, choosing to play mahjong in a side room instead. The next day, Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division, announced that she had been infected with the Omicron variant.
The director of the club, Chen Chung-yang (陳中央), was cited by Liberty Times as saying the woman had visited the club five days in a row. Chen said that on the evening of Dec. 31, because all 82 tables were full when the woman arrived, she skipped the dinner party and opted to return after midnight and play mahjong instead.
Chen said the woman played mahjong for three hours on Jan. 1. He said that she again played mahjong in the afternoon on Jan. 2 and 3, for about three hours each time.
Woman walks inside a room filled with mahjong tables. (Taoyuan City Police Bureau image)
He said on the day of the party, there was no real-name registration system in place and other than the spraying of disinfectant on guests' hands, epidemic prevention measures were inadequate. In photos taken of the banquet and performances, no attendees were seen wearing masks.
Chen said that 10 club members who came in contact with the woman have been listed as contacts. The Taoyuan City Government Department of Health and local police have been notified and have begun an investigation.
Chen said the club was established 18 years ago, and it holds about 36 events a year. He said that from January to May last year, she worked as a song request staffer four days a week for four hours each shift. However, due to the local COVID outbreak in May, the club was shuttered for a few months and she took a job as a cleaner at the airport to make a living.
Woman seated with her back to camera while playing mahjong. (Taoyuan City Police Bureau image)
She has been a member of the club for two years, said Chen. He added that when she visits the club, she usually plays mahjong and does not sing.
Chen added that no members have reported any COVID symptoms, but some have already gone to the community testing station to be screened for the virus "because they are worried." He urged anyone who has visited the Golden Voice Singers Club in recent days to get tested.
Surveillance camera footage shows the woman sitting in the corner of a room with three others while playing mahjong. As her back is turned to the camera, it is not clear whether she was wearing a mask, but at a nearby table, three out of four men are not wearing their masks properly.
