The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday announced one new imported case of COVID-19, a Taiwanese businessman in his 60s who was on the same flight as a couple returning from Bangladesh who tested positive on Monday.
Case No. 446 arrived in Taiwan on Saturday last week on a transfer flight from Malaysia, the center told a news conference.
He was on the same transfer flight with case Nos. 444 and 445, a 50-something Bangladeshi man and his 40-something Taiwanese wife, who had both been treated for COVID-19 while in Bangladesh, the center said.
Photo: Su Meng-chuan, Taipei Times
The man was seated one row in front of the couple, it said.
He was asymptomatic upon entry, but health officials ran tests on the 11 Taiwanese businesspeople who took the same flight, given the high infection risks in Bangladesh, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said, adding that he was the only one who tested positive for the virus.
Case No. 446 is being isolated at a hospital, Chuang said, adding that the possibility he had contracted the virus in Bangladesh was high.
As of yesterday, the nation had 446 confirmed cases with seven fatalities, among which 355 were imported, 55 were local infections and 36 constitute an infection cluster from the navy’s Panshih (磐石) ship, the center’s data showed.
A total of 434 have been released from quarantine after treatment, and there have been no new domestic cases for 67 consecutive days, the data showed.
In related news, the Taichung Health Bureau yesterday said it would fine the Taiwanese woman who returned with her husband from Bangladesh after finding out that she had lied by telling disease prevention officials that they had worn masks and protective gowns on the flight from Malaysia to Taiwan.
The Taichung City Government was mulling a fine of between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000 for the couple, but after discussing it with the central government, fined the woman NT$150,000 to deter similar behavior.
The man had been working in Bangladesh since January and the woman since March before returning to Taiwan, the center said.
The man on May 23 developed a fever, coughing, a sore throat, muscle pain and an abnormal sense of smell, while the woman developed a fever two days later, Chuang said.
They were diagnosed with COVID-19 and hospitalized in Bangladesh on May 25 and May 28 respectively, he said.
The man’s symptoms had alleviated by May 26 and he tested negative twice for the novel coronavirus on May 28 and June 2, he added.
The woman tested negative only once, on June 2, but the hospital said it had too many patients and allowed her to leave, Chuang said.
They were discharged from the hospital on June 2 and remained at home in Bangladesh until Friday, when they left for Taiwan, he said.
The couple claimed to have worn masks and protective gowns during the flight, but an investigation indicated otherwise, increasing infection risks for other passengers and crew on board, as well as sparking alarm among people in Taichung, from where the woman hails, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taichung City Councilor Lee li-hua (李麗華) said, adding that she had received numerous complaints from residents.
Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) urged residents not to panic, as the couple has not visited the city since returning to Taiwan.
The couple have been transferred to a hospital in northern Taiwan following the diagnosis, and would not leave until they have fully recovered.
Although the law does not require the couple to wear protective gowns on the flight back, they have an obligation to fully disclose their condition with disease prevention officials, Lu said.
While it is not yet certain if the Taiwanese businessman was infected by the couple, passengers on the same flight could have maintained proper social distancing if the couple had told the truth, the bureau said.
Additional reporting by Lee I-chia
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