The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported one more imported case of COVID-19, an Indonesian sailor in his 40s, making him the nation’s 489th confirmed case.
The center said it also received reports about two travelers from Taiwan testing positive for the virus in Japan and Vietnam.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), head of the center, said that the man arrived on Aug. 16 and was quarantined for 14 days, but tested positive in a self-paid COVID-19 test on Monday.
He had provided a negative test report obtained within three days before boarding the plane to Taiwan, and has not exhibited any symptoms even after his results returned positive, Chen said.
He was originally scheduled to set out to sea yesterday, but is now confined in a hospital arranged by his company, Chen said.
Health authorities have identified 35 people who had close contact with the man, Chen said, adding that they have been placed under home isolation for 14 days.
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is also the CECC spokesman, said that as the man tested positive in an antibody test, the likelihood that he contracted the virus in Taiwan was relatively low.
One of the travelers from Taiwan who received positive test results is a female Vietnamese migrant worker in her 30s who worked in northern Taiwan and returned home on Aug. 7, he said.
She tested negative for COVID-19 in two mandatory tests after arriving, but tested positive in a third exam on Wednesday last week, Chen said, adding that she has not shown symptoms.
The likelihood that she contracted the disease in Taiwan is low, he said, adding that four close contacts of the woman in Taiwan so far tested negative.
The other case is a Taiwanese man in his 50s who returned to Taiwan from Japan on March 19 and traveled to Japan again on Monday, Chen said, adding that local health department has identified his close contacts in Taiwan.
The CECC has also raised the infection risk level for Myanmar to medium from low risk, as the country on Aug. 16 reported its first domestic case of COVID-19 in four weeks.
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) shopping area welcomed the most international visitors, followed by Taipei 101, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park and Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園), a list of the city’s most popular tourist attractions published by the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism showed. As of August, 69.22 million people had visited Taipei’s main tourism spots, a 76 percent increase from 39.33 million in the same period last year, department data showed. Ximending had 20.21 million visitors, followed by Taipei 101 at 8.09 million, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park at 6.28 million, Yangmingshan at 4.51 million and the Red House Theater (西門紅樓) in
Renovations on the B3 concourse of Taipei Main Station are to begin on Nov. 1, with travelers advised to use entrances near the Taiwan Railway or high-speed rail platforms or information counter to access the MRT’s Red Line. Construction is to be completed before the end of next year, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said last week. To reduce the impact on travelers, the NT$95 million (US$2.95 million) project is to be completed in four stages, it said. In the first stage, the hall leading to the Blue Line near the art exhibition area is to be closed from Nov. 1 to the end
NINTH MONTH: There were 11,792 births in Taiwan last month and 15,563 deaths, or a mortality rate of 8.11 per 1,000 people, household registration data showed Taiwan’s population was 23,404,138 as of last month, down 2,470 from August, the ninth consecutive month this year that the nation has reported a drop, the Ministry of the Interior said on Wednesday. The population last month was 162 fewer than the same month last year, a decline of 0.44 per day, the ministry said, citing household registration data. Taiwan reported 11,792 births last month, or 3.7 births per day, up 149 from August, it said, adding that the monthly birthrate was 6.15 per 1,000 people. The jurisdictions with the highest birthrates were Yunlin County at 14.62 per 1,000 people, Penghu County (8.61
RSS