TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Kaohsiung City officials are calling on members of the public who purchased food from the "Sweet Potato Grandma" to undergo rapid screening for COVID-19 after she was found to be part of a cluster infection of five cases.

At a press briefing on Wednesday (June 30), Health Minister and CECC head Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) announced that five residents of an apartment tower in Kaoshiung's Fengshan District had tested positive for COVID-19. He said the cases are from two households, one on the third floor and the other on the seventh floor.

At a press briefing later that afternoon, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) called on anyone who had visited a sweet potato stall run by a woman in her 70s, designated as case No. 14,872, to undergo rapid screening for COVID-19. The woman, who the media has dubbed the "Sweet Potato Grandma," routinely sells sweet potatoes on Zhongzheng Road in Fengshan District.

However, because she had failed to have her customers adhere to the mandatory real-name registration, the health department is struggling to identify her contacts. Therefore, Chen called on members of the public who had purchased sweet potatoes from the woman between June 22 and 29 to call 1922 to arrange for testing.

Chen said that during the period in which she was potentially infectious, the woman had visited restaurants and supermarkets in Lingya, Xinxing, and Fengshan districts. He said that the woman lives on the third floor of the apartment building with two other family members who are also in their 70s.

The other two confirmed cases in the building, cases 14,415 and 14,416, are a man and woman in their 20s who live together on the seventh floor. Chen said the building has three elevators and that the structure's main entrances are narrow.

According to a preliminary epidemiological investigation by the health department, after checking surveillance cameras, it was found that neither case No. 14,415 nor case No. 14,872 had taken the elevator at the same time. However, on June 21, case No. 14,415 was seen taking one of the elevators, with case No. 14,87 taking the same one shortly afterward.

Because cases were identified on two different floors, a full evacuation of the apartment was ordered, with all 146 residents placed in quarantine and tested for COVID-19. The residents, along with 35 people in nearby shops, have been tested for the virus, and the results have come back negative.

A total of 50 people who work near the "Sweet Potato Grandma's" stall have tested negative for the virus. The city government has also set up an outdoor rapid screening station in the community, at which 245 people have tested so far.

During the press conference, Kaohsiung Department of Health specialist Pan Chao-ying (潘炤穎) could be heard saying, "The sweet potatoes at that stall are quite good." In response, many netizens posted messages in the livestreamed video's comments section fixating on the delectable sweet potatoes:

"Damn it! After hearing Pan Chao-ying say that, I want to eat baked sweet potatoes."

"I suddenly want to eat sweet potatoes."

"In the future, I want to eat Grandma's sweet potatoes."

"Pan Pan accidentally revealed what was in his heart."

"After this stall is released from lockdown, it will see an explosion in sales."