An American man was yesterday confirmed as Taiwan’s 50th COVID-19 case, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said, adding that it would consider placing certain US states on the nation’s travel advisory list.
The coronavirus outbreak in the US has almost reached “a critical point” and Taiwan could issue a travel warning for the US, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center.
However, due to the size of the US, the center would issue the advisories at the state or regional level, he added.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Chen did not answer media queries on whether the US capital, Washington, and the states of Washington, New York and California would be listed first.
Taiwan’s newest case is an American office worker in his 50s who lives in central Taiwan and might have contracted the disease after hosting two American couples on Feb. 24, Chen said.
The man was on Saturday last week hospitalized in a quarantine ward after experiencing chills, coughing and a fever for more than a week, and his positive test result was confirmed yesterday, he said.
The man is enrolled in the National Health Insurance program, but the cost of his hospitalization would be covered by the central government per the Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法), Centers for Disease Control Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩) said.
A CECC investigation found that one of the man’s friends had experienced chills, coughing and fatigue on the group’s arrival on Feb. 24, while their partner exhibited similar symptoms after leaving Taiwan on Feb. 26, Chen said.
A relative of the couple living in Seattle was on Tuesday confirmed to be infected, he said.
One member of the other couple also exhibited respiratory symptoms after leaving Taiwan, also on Feb. 26, he added.
Judging from his contact history, the 50th case was likely infected by his friends, Chen said, adding that while the man developed symptoms in Taiwan, the cause of infection was probably from abroad.
The CECC has identified 64 people who had contact with the 50th case, and it would continue to investigate the places the man and his friends visited while they were in Taiwan, he said.
Asked about the effects of a month-long lockdown of Manila on Philippine workers in Taiwan and Taiwanese in the Philippines, Chen said that while he is not sure about the severity of the situation, the outbreak in the capital, or even the entire nation, might be more serious than its confirmed cases imply.
The CECC would maintain communication with Taiwan’s representative office, travelers and businesspeople in the Philippines to obtain more information about the local situation, he said.
In related news, the 361 Taiwanese who were evacuated from China on charter flights earlier this week have all tested negative for the novel coronavirus, Chen said.
They remain housed in several quarantine facilities and the CECC would continue to monitor their health, he said.
The CECC said that it is developing an information system to monitor the whereabouts and health of people undergoing 14-day self-health management — a quarantine measure for people returning from countries or regions under a level 1 or 2 travel advisory.
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
RSS