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Taiwan reports three new imported cases of COVID-19

ROC Central News Agency

01/27/2021 04:16 PM

Taipei, Jan. 27 (CNA) Taiwan on Wednesday confirmed three new imported cases of COVID-19 and reported no locally transmitted cases for the third consecutive day, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

One of the new cases is a migrant worker from the Philippines, in his 30s, who arrived in Taiwan on Jan. 6 and went directly into quarantine at a government-designated facility, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, said at a press briefing in Taipei.

The man tested negative for COVID-19 upon completing his quarantine on Jan. 19, and moved into a dormitory provided by his employer, where he continued to observe self-health management protocols, Chen said.

At the company's request, the man received a COVID-19 test at a hospital on Jan. 25, and the results came back positive on Wednesday, said Chen, adding that the patient is currently asymptomatic.

As the man did not come into contact with anyone in Taiwan, no contact tracing is necessary, Chen said.

Another of the new cases is a Burmese national, also in his 30s, who entered Taiwan on Jan. 3 to begin work as a deckhand on a ship, according to Chen.

The man tested negative upon completing his quarantine on Jan. 18, but was tested a second time on Jan. 25 ahead of his planned sailing date, and the results came back positive, Chen said.

The CECC said health authorities traced 27 contacts in the case, placing 12 in home quarantine and 15 in self-health management.

The third new case, meanwhile, is a Taiwanese woman who returned from the United States on Jan. 17.

While in home quarantine, she developed symptoms including a cough, runny nose and sore throat on Jan. 19, which she treated on her own with medicine, according to Chen.

On Jan. 24, she began suffering from diarrhea and a fever, and tested positive for COVID-19 after reporting her symptoms to authorities the following day, he said.

Chen said the CECC is in the process of identifying passengers who may have come into contact with the woman on her flight to Taiwan.

On a positive note, the CECC on Wednesday reported no new local transmissions connected to a cluster of COVID-19 cases in Taoyuan for the third consecutive day.

To date, Taiwan has reported 893 cases of COVID-19, of which 783 have been classified as imported.

Of the total, seven patients have died, 803 have recovered and 83 remain in hospital receiving treatment, according to CECC statistics as of Wednesday.

(By Chang Ming-hsuan, Wu Hsin-yun and Matthew Mazzetta)

Enditem/AW