Two test positive for COVID-19 in Vietnam, Japan after leaving Taiwan

ROC Central News Agency

09/02/2020 05:58 PM

Taipei, Sept. 2 (CNA) A Vietnamese migrant worker and a Taiwanese national who recently left Taiwan for Vietnam and Japan, respectively, have tested positive for COVID-19, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced Wednesday.

Information about the cases was sent from the two countries' health authorities to Taiwan via the National IHR Focal Point, a communication channel set up under the World Health Organization's International Health Regulations, said CECC head Chen Shih-chung (陳時中).

According to Chen, the Vietnamese migrant worker is in her 30s and came to Taiwan in 2018. She left Taiwan on Aug. 7 and has been tested for COVID-19 three times since arriving in Vietnam.

The first two tests, taken on Aug. 7 and Aug. 14, came back negative, but she tested positive for the disease on Aug. 26, Chen said.

So far, she has not shown any symptoms, Chen said.

As the patient tested positive 19 days after leaving Taiwan, it is unlikely that she was infected here, Chen said, adding that four contacts of the patient in Taiwan have since tested negative for the disease and its antibodies.

Another case reported on Wednesday was that of a Taiwanese national in his 50s who traveled from Japan to Taiwan on March 19 and left for Japan with a friend on Aug. 31.

Upon entry to Japan, he tested positive for COVID-19, but his friend's tests came back negative, Chen said.

As the CECC received notice of this case on Tuesday, they have only found one contact of the patient in Taiwan so far, according to CECC spokesman Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥).

The CECC will continue to check if the man had any other contacts while in Taiwan, Chen said.

To date, Taiwan has recorded 489 cases of COVID-19, including a new case from Indonesia that was reported on Wednesday.

(By Chen Wei-ting and Chiang Yi-ching)

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