Taiwanese man tests positive for COVID-19 on return from Mexico

ROC Central News Agency

07/02/2020 05:22 PM

Taipei, July 2 (CNA) A Taiwanese man was confirmed Thursday as the country's 448th COVID-19 case, two days after he returned from Mexico, where he works, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

At the CECC's weekly briefing in Taipei, deputy chief of the Centers for Disease Control Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) said the man, who is in his 50s, had been working in Mexico since February and had sought medical attention there several times after he developed a fever and cough on June 17.

The man was not tested for COVID-19 in Mexico, and he began to improve around June 25, Lo said.

On arrival at Taoyuan International Airport on Tuesday, the man was tested after he reported to quarantine officers that he had been unwell for about a week, Lo said.

Following the confirmation of the man's positive COVID-19 test, he was placed in hospital quarantine, although he has only a minor lung infection, Lo said.

According to Lo, the man was wearing full protective gear, including a face mask and goggles, throughout his entire trip from Mexico, which included a transit stop in the United States.

The CECC said it has identified 23 people who had come into contact with the man on the flight into Taiwan, including 11 crew members.

In the business class section where the man was seated, there were 12 other passengers, 11 of whom are now in home quarantine in Taiwan, while the 12th person was a transit traveler who departed Taiwan the same day, the CECC said.

The crew members, who were dressed in full protective gear throughout the flight, have been asked to conduct self-health management, the CECC said.

The man was the second COVID-19 patient in Taiwan believed to have been infected in Mexico, according to the CECC.

As of Thursday, Taiwan had recorded a total of 448 COVID-19 cases, with 357 classified as imported, 55 as locally acquired, and 36 as a cluster infection on board a naval ship, an outbreak that was confirmed to have originated in Taiwan.

(By Ko Lin)

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