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Taiwan reports 4 new imported COVID-19 cases (update)

ROC Central News Agency

01/03/2021 05:27 PM

Taipei, Jan. 3 (CNA) Taiwan reported four additional imported cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 812 since the epidemic began in late 2019, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

The four latest cases include three Taiwanese, who are two women in their 20s and a man in his 60s, returning from the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States, respectively.

The fourth is a man in his 30s from the African state of eSwatini, the CECC said in a press release.

The woman returning from the U.K. had been studying there since August. She tested negative three days before boarding a flight to Taiwan and informed both the airline and Taiwanese health authorities that she had an itchy throat before boarding and upon arrival in Taiwan on Dec. 31, the center said.

The woman was tested twice for COVID-19 in Taiwan, once upon arrival, and the second time during her 14-day quarantine at a designated location after developing a fever. Both tests came back positive, the CECC said.

The health authorities have traced 14 people who had contact with the woman, all passengers on the same flight, who are now in home quarantine, it added.

Another woman in her 20s had been studying in Germany since September last year. She returned to Taiwan on Dec. 28 with a negative test result, but developed a sore throat during quarantine and took a COVID-19 test on Jan. 1, with the result coming back positive earlier Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Taiwanese man in his 60s returned on Dec. 27 also with a negative test, after visiting relatives in the U.S. since October last year.

The patient developed muscle pain, a fever and a cough from Dec. 29-31 while in home quarantine. He took a COVID-19 test on Jan. 1 which came back positive earlier Sunday, according to the CECC.

Seven passengers sitting close to the man during his flight to Taiwan have been traced and placed in home quarantine, it said.

The fourth case on Sunday is a man from eSwatini who arrived in Taiwan for work on Dec. 24. Despite presenting a negative test before boarding, he later development a headache and a runny nose on Dec. 31 during home quarantine. He tested positive for coronavirus Sunday.

A friend of the man who accompanied him on the flight to Taiwan has been listed as a close contact and tested for COVID-19, with the result pending.

As of Sunday, Taiwan had recorded 812 cases of COVID-19, 717 of which have been classified as imported. Of the total, 689 have recovered, 116 are hospitalized, and seven have died, CECC data shows.

(By Chen Wei-ting and Joseph Yeh)

Enditem/AW