Hong Kong imposed new quarantine restrictions on travelers from Taiwan after a community outbreak of COVID-19 saw the self-ruled island battling to maintain its much-admired track record of containing the coronavirus.

Taiwan health authorities announced 34 new cases on Friday, including 29 local ones. Of those, seven were from unknown sources. The other five cases were imported, with two from Indonesia, two from Paraguay, and one from Albania.

In response, Hong Kong Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan told a panel at the legislature that travelers from Taiwan must enter quarantine at designated hotels for 14 days, instead of the previous home quarantine that they were allowed. Travelers must wait for their test results at the airport before leaving, be tested three more times during quarantine, as well as on the 16th and 19th day of arrival.

In Taiwan, authorities tightened measures in face of the pandemic. Offices of the Taipei government will start working remotely next week, and universities will switch to remote teaching.

In Changhua county, all temples have stopped accepting offerings from residents of other places and large scale assemblies. Over 50 night markets in the county were told to close.

There were 38 local cases recorded between Tuesday and Thursday. There were three local infection clusters involving 20, eight and seven people, respectively. A cluster at the Novotel Taipei Taoyuan International Airport hotel started by airline crews recorded 35 cases. The infected people were tracked to 11 counties and cities, causing concern among local people.

A former head of the Wugu District Lions Club in New Taipei city was suspected to be a super-spreader of the virus. The man, commonly known as “Brother Lion,” had been on visits to New Taipei city, Taipei city and Yilan county, involving 180 close contacts. Twenty-nine people have yet to be tested, and results for dozens have yet to be released.

In a photo seen by Apple Daily Taiwan, the man was seen dining with seven others at a table on May 6. Four people were at a neighboring table, and there were two passersby. None of them wore masks or maintained social distancing.

The man, around 60, owns several pieces of land and factories in the Wugu district, several locals who knew him told Apple Daily Taiwan. He was known to have a lot of friends and often attended meetings of business chambers.

An employee of the Taiwan presidential office revealed that two family members had dined with the man, and the employee had subsequently had a meal with those family members. The employee asked for leave to quarantine at home.

There were also suspected cases found in Kaohsiung, New Taipei and Taipei cities related to two existing clusters. Four homeless people in the Wanhua district of Taipei city were found to have symptoms and were sent to the Taipei City Hospital Zhongxiao Branch.

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