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Taiwan has moved to implement broad quarantine measures after a domestic cluster appeared at one of its hospitals.

According to Focus Taiwan, the decision to more than double the number of people quarantining at home to more than 5,000 was announced by Health Minister Chen Shih-chung on Jan. 24. 

Northern city of Taoyuan

The hospital connected to the recent spate of Covid-19 cases is located in the northern city of Taoyuan.

According to CNA, while there has reportedly been just 15 cases recorded from the hospital since Jan. 12, the rise of community cases has unnerved the government enough to cancel many large-scale events related to the upcoming Chinese New Year.

According to Reuters, there have been just 889 infections recorded in Taiwan so far, of which the majority have been imported cases.

Bloomberg called these cases the "biggest threat" to Taiwan's effective response to the pandemic thus far.

"Effective immediately"

According to Bloomberg, Chen announced that patients, carers and medical staff who were at the Taoyuan hospital will have to quarantine at home for 14 days effective immediately. The quarantine order also includes all people they live with, or who may have had contact with the infected patients from the hospital cluster.

With the order covering anyone who entered the hospital between Jan. 6 and Jan. 19, Chen puts the total tally of people who will have to be quarantined at home to about 5,000 people.

The Taiwanese government is testing all those who have been quarantined, and announcing new cases as they are confirmed.

Individuals affected have to continue monitoring their health for a further seven days and take a Covid-19 test after quarantine.

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