Taiwan reports 6 new imported COVID-19 cases
ROC Central News Agency
01/02/2021 04:40 PM
Taipei, Jan. 2 (CNA) Six newly imported COVID-19 cases were reported in Taiwan Saturday, including a British man who was found to have a high viral load, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
CECC spokesman Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) told reporters that the man, in his 30s, who arrived in Taiwan on Wednesday, took a test Thursday during his mandatory quarantine which came back positive on Saturday.
Citing the test results, Chuang said the man had a CT level of 18, indicating a relatively high viral load.
In Taiwan, a CT level under 35 is considered a positive test.
The patient, who tested negative three days before boarding a flight to Taiwan, told health authorities he experienced nasal congestion before arriving but thought the symptom was caused by bitterly cold weather in the United Kingdom, Chuang said.
Two people who had contact with the man have been traced, both of whom are the man's colleagues. They have tested negative and have been placed in home quarantine, the CECC said.
One of the five other new imported cases reported on Saturday was a Taiwanese woman, in her 20s, who has been studying for a degree in the United States for a long time before returning to Taiwan Wednesday, presenting a negative test result, Chuang said.
The woman had a sore throat on Wednesday during quarantine and took a test a day later, which came back positive on Saturday, he added.
The health authorities have traced 18 people who had contact with the woman, placing six in home quarantine and the remaining 12 in self-health management, Chuang said.
The third case involved an American woman, in her 40s, who arrived in Taiwan Dec. 24 with a negative test result and showed no symptoms on arrival, he added
During home quarantine, the woman developed fatigue, an abnormal sense of smell and diarrhea on Tuesday. She took a test a day later, which confirmed she has COVID-19 Saturday, Chuang said.
As the woman's contacts in hospital were well protected, neither have to be traced, he said.
The fourth and fifth cases were two female migrant workers from the Philippines, who arrived in Taiwan on Dec. 18 with negative test results, according to the CECC.
The migrant workers, who developed no symptoms during quarantine, took tests on Thursday which came back positive Saturday, Chuang said, adding that the two remain asymptomatic.
Since the Filipinas had no contact with others no one needs to be traced, Chuang said.
The sixth case is a fisherman from Indonesia, in his 20s, who arrived in Taiwan on Dec. 17 with a negative test, Chuang noted.
The Indonesian national took a test on Friday and was confirmed as having COVID-19 Saturday, while remaining asymptomatic. Chuang said six people who had contact with the man have been traced and placed in self-health management.
As of Saturday, Taiwan had recorded 808 cases of COVID-19, 713 of which have been classified as imported. Of the total, 686 have recovered, 115 are hospitalized and seven have died, CECC data shows.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, COVID-19 has infected about 83.92 million people in 191 countries and regions worldwide, with more than 1.83 million fatalities, according to CECC statistics as of Saturday.
(By Chang Ming-hsuan and Frances Huang)
Enditem/AW
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