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Taiwan reports 25 new COVID-19 cases, most infection sources known

ROC Central News Agency

07/24/2021 05:06 PM

 

Taipei, July 24 (CNA) Taiwan on Saturday reported 25 new COVID-19 infections -- 24 transmitted domestically and one contracted overseas -- and two deaths from the disease, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

Of the domestic cases, nine were reported in New Taipei, seven in Taipei, three in Taoyuan, two in Changhua County and one each in Miaoli, Keelung and Taichung, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said at a press briefing.

Although the new cases were spread out among more cities and counties than usual, the number of cases with an unknown source of infection has remained under 10 for more than a week, said Chen, who also heads the CECC.

On Saturday, he said, 17 of the cases had a known source of infection, while only four had no apparent links to other cases, and three were being investigated.

The appearance of 10 cases from unknown sources in a day was one of the criteria the CECC set out in May for imposing a Level 3 COVID-19 alert, though it is unclear whether it will use the same standard when the alert is lowered to Level 2 next week.

 

Meanwhile, the one imported case was a Taiwanese man in his 20s, who returned from Spain on Thursday and whose mandatory COVID-19 test at the airport came back positive on Saturday, while he was in quarantine.

Taiwan began testing all arriving travelers for COVID-19 earlier this month, roughly a week after it suspended the option of doing the required 14-day quarantine at home, amid fears over the spread of the Delta variant.

The two deaths reported Saturday were both men in their 70s who passed away on July 20 and July 22 respectively, the CECC said.

To date, Taiwan has confirmed a total of 15,558 COVID-19 cases, of which 14,086 are domestic infections reported since May 15, when Taiwan first recorded more than 100 COVID-19 cases in a single day.

The number of deaths from COVID-19 in Taiwan has now risen to 786, all but 12 of which have occurred since May 15.

 

Also on Saturday, Taipei City released information on locations visited by two recent COVID-19 cases in which the source of infection is still unknown.

One of the patients, the city said, had visited a Carrefour on Chenggong Road in Neihu from 7:31-7:49 a.m. on Wednesday, before testing positive for COVID-19 later that day.

The other individual, who tested positive on Thursday, was at Addiction Aquatic Development seafood restaurant on Minzu East Road from 3:55-4:15 p.m. on July 17, the city's health department said.

As COVID-19 infections have declined in recent weeks, Taipei has increasingly released information on the places COVID-19 patients visited before their diagnosis, if it is believed they may have spread the disease to others.

(By Matthew Mazzetta)

Enditem/AW