Taiwan reports 1 new domestic, 3 imported COVID-19 cases
ROC Central News Agency
02/05/2021 06:09 PM
Taipei, Feb. 5 (CNA) Taiwan on Friday reported one new domestically transmitted case of COVID-19 and three imported cases of the disease, according to the latest update on the pandemic from the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
The domestic case is a Taiwanese woman in her 40s who was listed as a contact of a nurse at Taoyuan General Hospital -- the epicenter of a cluster infection -- and her grandmother, both of whom are part of the cluster that broke out at the hospital on Jan. 12 and has since seen 20 people infected.
The latest patient was in home quarantine from Jan. 12 to Feb. 3, but developed an itchy throat on Feb. 1, the CECC said, noting that the woman was tested for coronavirus on Feb. 4, the result of which came back positive on Friday.
Two of the woman's family who had already been listed as contacts of the nurse and her grandmother and therefore quarantined. They were ordered to remain in quarantine until Feb. 18, the CECC said in a statement.
At Friday's press briefing, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, said the new patient had already been quarantined on Jan. 12, and has not been outdoors except for one visit to receive a COVID-19 test.
"All concerned were put in isolation," he said, which meant that the newly confirmed domestic case has had a low impact on the community.
Also that day, the CECC announced three new imported cases involving travelers from the Netherlands, the United States and the United Arab Emirates.
According to CECC data, a Dutch man in his 60s flew to Taiwan on Jan. 2 for work with a certificate of a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test result issued three days before his boarding a flight to Taiwan.
The man, who has so far had no symptoms of COVID-19, had been in quarantine at a hotel since his arrival and began to work on Jan. 17 after the conclusion of the quarantine.
He sought a self-paid COVID-19 test at a hospital on Feb. 3, which was required for his return trip, and the test result came back positive on Friday, the CECC said.
The second new imported case involved a Taiwanese national in his 20s who lives in the U.S. He flew back to Taiwan along with three family members on Jan. 13 -- all with negative COVID-19 test results upon their arrival, according to the CECC.
They were all in home quarantine, observing self-health management protocols.
After the requirement for self-health management expired, the man and his three family members on the same flight sought self-paid tests at a hospital to determine whether it was safe for them to reunite with their relatives in Taiwan, the CECC said.
On Friday the results came back positive for the man but negative for his three family members, the CECC added.
The third case was that of an Afghani man in his 40s who lives in Dubai and often traveled between Taiwan and Dubai for business, the CECC said.
On his latest trip, the man flew to Taiwan on Jan. 7 with a negative COVID-19 test result issued within three days of boarding.
After the end of his required 14 days of quarantine, he developed a cough on Jan. 24 but did not seek medical treatment, passing the irritation off as a mere common cold.
On Feb. 4 the man sought a self-paid COVID-19 test to allow him to return home, the result of which came back positive on Friday, the CECC said.
The center added that one contact of the man has been put into quarantine and a track-and-trace into the man's other contacts and activities in Taiwan has been launched.
To date, 20 people linked to the hospital have been confirmed with COVID-19 -- two doctors, four nurses, one migrant caregiver, six relatives of two of the nurses, two hospital patients, three relatives of the two patients, and two other contacts.
As of Friday, Taiwan had recorded 923 cases of COVID-19, 808 of which have been classified as imported. Of the total, 841 have recovered, nine have died and 73 remain in hospital, CECC data shows.
(By Elizabeth Hsu)
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