Coronavirus: Taiwan chip maker TSMC confirms second coronavirus infection but says operations not affected
- TSMC said the employee, who has not been to the company’s offices for some time, displayed mild symptoms and has been in home quarantine
- The Covid-19 outbreak in Taiwan comes amid an ongoing global semiconductor shortage which has caused widespread disruption to tech-dependent products
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, confirmed on Wednesday its second case of coronavirus infection, but added that its operations would not be affected.
In a statement, TSMC said the employee, who lives in New Taipei City but has not been to any of the company’s offices for some time, displayed mild symptoms and has been in home quarantine. Ten people confirmed to have been in close contact with the employee are also now in home quarantine, according to the statement, which did not provide details of the infected employee’s work location.
TSMC’s corporate headquarters are in the Hsinchu Science Park, about 90 kilometres southwest of Taipei, where it also operates most of its advanced wafer fabrication plants.
The statement added that the company will monitor the health of employees on a daily basis and provide necessary help.
The confirmation of the new case comes days after a first employee was tested positive for the pathogen as the self-ruled Taiwan grapples with a surge of infections, putting a strain on the health care system and raising questions about the ability of the island’s chip makers to continue supplying semiconductors during a worsening global shortage.
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The latest update from Taiwan authorities, issued on Wednesday, said the island saw 302 new local cases, with 152 in New Taipei City and 87 in Taipei.