One new imported COVID-19 case; one non-SAE among vaccinated

ROC Central News Agency

03/23/2021 04:28 PM

Taipei, March 23 (CNA) Taiwan on Tuesday confirmed one imported case of COVID-19 from the Netherlands, according to the Central Command Center (CECC), which also reported one non-serious adverse event (SAE) among the more than 1,500 people who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine since vaccinations began the previous day.

The new case involves a Dutch man in his 20s who flew to Taiwan for work from the Netherlands on Feb. 8 with proof of a negative COVID-19 test result within three days of the flight, the CECC said in a press release.

The man took a self-paid test after the conclusion of 14 days of mandatory quarantine at a hotel on Feb. 23, with the result negative for the coronavirus. However, on March 21 he took another self-paid test at a hospital in order to return home and the result came back positive on Tuesday.

The latest test result showed a CT value of 36, with IgG antibodies but no IgM antibodies, indicating the man was infected a while ago, the CECC said, adding that the man was asymptomatic and three contacts have been identified.

Meanwhile, at the CECC's regular press briefing on Tuesday, spokesperson Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said 1,578 people have received the AZ COVID-19 vaccine since vaccinations began the previous day.

Currently, there has been only one "non-SAE" reported to the CECC, Chuang said, and that involved a vaccine recipient in northern Taiwan who developed a fever.

He also said that more than 1,000 vaccinated individuals have already signed up to the "Taiwan V-Watch" system, which was launched on Monday to allow people who have received a COVID-19 vaccine to regularly report their health status to the Centers for Disease Control.

The launch of the voluntary system came on the same day as Taiwan officially started its COVID-19 vaccine roll-out. A total of 58 hospitals across the country have been allocated doses of the AZ vaccine and begun administering them to medical workers.

To date, Taiwan has recorded 1,007 cases of COVID-19, 891 of which have been classified as imported. Of the total, 969 have recovered, 10 have died and 28 remain in hospital, CECC data shows.

Globally, COVID-19 has infected over 123.5 million people in 193 countries and regions, with more than 2.7 million fatalities, according to CECC statistics as of Tuesday.

(By Elizabeth Hsu)

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