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Taiwan reports nine new imported cases of COVID-19

ROC Central News Agency

11/28/2020 04:56 PM

Taipei, Nov. 28 (CNA) Taiwan on Saturday confirmed nine new imported cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number in the country to 648 since the pandemic began, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

Four of the new cases were female Indonesian migrant workers in their 20s and 30s who arrived in Taiwan aboard the same flight three days earlier, CECC spokesman Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said at a press briefing in Taipei.

Three of the women informed health officials at the airport that they were feeling unwell, while the fourth reported that she was taking medicine (later identified as a vitamin C supplement), and all four were tested for COVID-19, said Chuang, adding that the results came back positive on Saturday.

Sixteen people who sat near the women on the flight have been told to watch for symptoms during their quarantine, while the 21 members of the flight crew were deemed sufficiently protected and will not be required to self-isolate, he said.

Another case involves a Taiwanese woman in her 40s who resides in the U.S. and reported no symptoms on arrival in Taiwan on Nov. 19, Chuang said.

On Thursday, however, she took a COVID-19 test after applying for permission to attend a funeral, which returned a positive result on Saturday, he said.

Three other cases involve female Indonesian migrant workers in their 20s to 40s, who arrived in Taiwan on the same flight on Nov. 13, according to Chuang.

The women tested positive for COVID-19 upon the completion of their 14-day quarantine, but all are asymptomatic, he said.

The remaining case is that of a male Indonesian migrant worker in his 20s, who entered Taiwan on Nov. 15, Chuang said.

Because he arrived from a manpower agency that was banned by the CECC on Nov. 20 due to COVID-19 concerns, he was tested on Friday as a precaution, and the results came back positive, Chuang said.

The CECC said it has notified three workers at the man's quarantine facility who were potentially exposed and has arranged a COVID-19 test for one of them who is experiencing symptoms.

Since Nov. 20, Taiwan has banned entry to migrant workers from six Indonesian manpower agencies in response to a recent uptick in imported COVID-19 cases from that country.

To date, Taiwan has reported a total of 648 cases of COVID-19, of which it has classified 556 as imported.

Of the total, 556 patients have recovered, seven have died and 85 are being treated in hospitals, according to CECC data as of Saturday.

(By Chen Wei-ting and Matthew Mazzetta)

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