Taiwan reports two new imported COVID-19 cases

ROC Central News Agency

07/10/2020 04:32 PM

Taipei, July 10 (CNA) Two new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Taiwan on Friday, both of which involved people who recently returned to Taiwan after spending months working overseas, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

One of the two newly reported patients is a women in her 20s, who left Taiwan in October 2018 and had been working in the United States. She did not have any symptoms when she returned to Taiwan on July 5, said CECC spokesman Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥).

After feeling fatigue and muscle aches on July 7 during her 14-day home quarantine, which is mandatory for all returning citizens, she was tested the following day and her test came back positive Friday, said Chuang, who is also the deputy head of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Health authorities have listed 35 people who had contact with the woman, including two family members and 22 passengers on the same flight as her, who will be asked to isolate themselves at home for 14 days.

The other 11 -- crew members on her flight -- will simply have to monitor their health for 14 days, since they were wearing full protective gear while working on the flight, according to the CECC.

The other case, a man in his 50s who has been abroad since November last year, developed a fever on July 2 while working in Oman.

He returned to Taiwan on July 8 and was sent to a quarantine facility after he reported his symptoms to health officials at the airport, Chuang said.

Some 39 people were confirmed to have had contact with the man, including 22 passengers sitting in close proximity to him on the flight returning to Taiwan, according to Chuang.

The other 17 were crew members on the flight operated by a foreign carrier, which will be notified of the infection by the CECC through the National IHR Focal Point -- a communication mechanism established under the World Health Organization's International Health Regulations, Chuang said.

The last time Taiwan recorded a new COVID-19 case was on July 3. The two new cases pushed the total number of confirmed COVID-19 infections in the country since the outbreak began to 451.

Of those infected, seven have died, 438 have recovered, and six have been hospitalized, according to the CECC.

Globally, there have been over 12.2 million confirmed COVID-19 infections, including 554,749 deaths, CECC statistics showed as of Friday.

(By Kay Liu) enditem/ls