The possibility that the nation’s 24th confirmed COVID-19 case could be the start of a local infection cluster is under investigation, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, adding that a level 1 “watch” travel notice has been issued for South Korea.
The center on Wednesday announced the 24th case, a 60-year-old woman who has not traveled abroad in two years.
The woman first exhibited symptoms of coughing and a fever on Jan. 22, and visited a clinic four times between then and Jan. 29, the center said.
She was hospitalized on Jan. 29 for pneumonia and was transferred to an intensive care unit on Monday last week, it said.
The hospital on Monday this week transferred her to a negative pressure isolation ward and took samples, which tested positive for COVID-19.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that of the 352 people who have come into contact with the woman, 127 — 118 medical personnel and nine family members — required further testing.
As of yesterday, 111 of the 118 medical personnel tested negative, while results for the other seven were still pending, Chen said.
The ministry yesterday upgraded South Korea to a level 1 “watch” travel advisory due to an increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the country.
South Korea has 104 confirmed cases, 70 percent of whom reportedly contracted the virus in the country, while the source of infection of six has yet to be determined, the ministry said.
It also reported its first death from the virus yesterday.
As of 5pm yesterday, Japan had reported 70 cases, not including those from the Diamond Princess cruise ship that thad been quarantined at Yokohama, the center said.
Japan is under a level 1 “watch” travel advisory, and the center is evaluating whether to upgrade it to a higher level, which is likely, Chen said, adding that the center would confer with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Meanwhile, the source of infection of the nation’s 19th confirmed case, and the first fatality in Taiwan, was a Taiwanese businessperson returning from China’s Zhejiang Province on Jan. 22, the center said.
Samples of the businessperson’s blood were sent to National Taiwan University Hospital and Academia Sinica for antibody testing, it said.
While COVID-19 antibodies were present in the samples, the businessperson did not test positive for the coronavirus, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said.
Blood samples of the businessperson’s family members have tested negative for the disease, the CECC said, adding that it would continue to monitor others who had contact with the person.
Additional reporting by Chien Hui-ju
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