The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported one new domestically transmitted case of COVID-19 and three imported cases.
A Taiwanese woman in her 40s who was listed as a contact of a nurse at Taoyuan General Hospital — the center of a cluster infection that broke out on Jan. 12 — tested positive yesterday, the center said.
While in quarantine from Jan. 12 to Wednesday, she developed an itchy throat and was tested on Thursday.
Photo copied by Lin Yi-chang, Taipei Times
Two members of her family, who had already been listed as contacts of the nurse and the nurse’s grandmother, have been ordered to remain in quarantine until Feb. 18, the center said.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, told a news conference in Taipei that the woman has not been outdoors since the start of her quarantine except to receive a COVID-19 test.
“All relevant contacts have been put in isolation,” he said.
Photo courtesy of the Central Epidemic Command Center
To date, 20 people linked to the hospital cluster have tested positive for COVID-19: two doctors, four nurses and six of their relatives, a migrant caregiver, two hospital patients and three of their relatives, and two other contacts.
The three imported cases involved travelers from the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates and the US, the center said.
A Dutch man in his 60s flew to Taiwan on Jan. 2 for work, the CECC said, adding that he had a certificate of a negative polymerase chain reaction test result issued three days before boarding his flight.
The man, who has so far shown no symptoms, began work on Jan. 17 after finishing quarantine, but on Wednesday sought a self-paid COVID-19 test, required for his return trip, which came back positive yesterday, the center said.
A Taiwanese in his 20s who lives in the US arrived with three family members on Jan. 13 — all with negative COVID-19 test results, the center said.
After the end of their required self-health management period, they sought self-paid tests to determine whether it was safe to visit relatives, it said, adding that all of the results, except the man’s, came back negative.
An Afghan man in his 40s, who lives in Dubai and travels often to Taiwan for business, arrived on Jan. 7 with a negative COVID-19 test result, the center said.
After the end of his required quarantine, he developed a cough on Jan. 24, but did not seek medical treatment, the CECC said, adding that on Thursday, he sought a self-paid COVID-19 test to allow him to return home, the result of which came back positive yesterday.
OPTIMISTIC: The DGBAS sharply upgraded its GDP growth estimate from 3.54 percent to 7.71 percent after the Taiwan-US trade agreement signing and given AI optimism The US imported more from Taiwan than China for the first time in decades, as US President Donald Trump’s tariffs reshape trade flows while a global boom in artificial intelligence (AI) fuels demand for tech products. US purchases of goods from China plunged almost 44 percent in December last year from 2024 to US$21.1 billion, US Department of Commerce data showed on Thursday. By contrast, shipments from Taiwan more than doubled during the same period to US$24.7 billion. The soaring Taiwanese shipments to the US reflect the huge expansion in supplies of chips and servers for AI companies, which has completely changed
NON-NEGOTIABLE: The US president’s action ran counter to one of the US’ ‘six assurances’ on not consulting China about arms sales to Taiwan, US lawmakers said US President Donald Trump’s admission that he is discussing arms sales to Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is “alarming and a blatant violation of US policy and the six assurances,” US Representative Ro Khanna said on Tuesday. Trump on Monday said he would decide soon on whether to send more weapons to Taiwan, after Xi warned him not to do so. “I’m talking to him about it. We had a good conversation, and we’ll make a determination pretty soon,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One when asked about warnings raised by Beijing during a phone call with Xi over
The Central Election Commission has amended election and recall regulations to require elected office candidates to provide proof that they have no Chinese citizenship, a Cabinet report said. The commission on Oct. 29 last year revised the Measures for the Permission of Family-based Residence, Long-term Residence and Settlement of People from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民在台灣地區依親居留長期居留或定居許可辦法), the Executive Yuan said in a report it submitted to the legislature for review. The revision requires Chinese citizens applying for permanent residency to submit notarial documents showing that they have lost their Chinese household record and have renounced — or have never
US and Chinese fighter jets briefly faced off above waters near the Korean Peninsula this week, Yonhap News agency reported, marking a rare confrontation in that area between the two superpowers. About 10 US fighter jets on Wednesday departed an airbase in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, for drills above international waters off South Korea’s western coast, the news outlet cited unidentified military sources as saying. While the US planes did not enter China’s air defense identification zone, Beijing scrambled planes as they neared that region, the report said. “The Chinese People’s Liberation Army organized naval and air forces to monitor and effectively respond
RSS