The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported nine new imported cases of COVID-19 in eight migrant workers from Indonesia and one Taiwanese who returned from the US.
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is CECC spokesman, said that four of the Indonesians are women who attended training at the same employment agency in their home country and on Wednesday arrived on the same flight for work in Taiwan.
Chuang said that three of them reported symptoms upon arrival and the other woman was asymptomatic.
Photo: CNA
They were administered tests at the airport for which the results yesterday returned positive, he said.
Another case is a Taiwanese woman in her 40s who lives in the US and on Thursday last week returned to Taiwan to visit family, Chuang said.
The woman applied to attend a funeral during her quarantine and was on Thursday administered a test, Chuang said, adding that her results yesterday returned positive.
Chuang said that it was the second case of a quarantined individual who tested positive in a paid-out-of-pocket test after applying for compassionate leave.
Three other cases are Indonesian women who on Nov. 13 arrived on the same flight, he said, adding that they were tested on Thursday upon completing their quarantine, and their results yesterday returned positive.
Chuang said that another case is an Indonesian man, who arrived in Taiwan on Nov. 15 and has not experienced any symptoms.
The man had attended training at one of the four Indonesian employment agencies for which the CECC last week announced a temporary ban for sending workers to Taiwan, Chuang said.
Twenty-seven migrant workers with a connection to the agencies were tested, and only the man’s test results returned positive, he added.
Meanwhile, in response to public concerns about whether the CECC’s policy that requires overseas Taiwanese to provide a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test result from within three days before boarding a flight to Taiwan is against the Constitution, Chuang said that the policy is based on Article 58 of the Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法).
Moreover, asking airlines to cooperate on examining passengers’ test results is based on Article 17 and Article 58 of the same law, as well as Article 24 of the Regulations Governing Quarantine at Ports (港埠檢疫規則).
Chuang said that people would be allowed to board flights to Taiwan only if they have a valid negative PCR test result.
If they test positive, they should conform to the COVID-19 prevention regulations in the country they are in, and apply for emergency medical evacuation to Taiwan if necessary, he said.
People who meet the three exceptional conditions the center announced on Wednesday can sign an affidavit before boarding the plane without a PCR test result, Chuang said, adding that they would have to be tested upon arrival in Taiwan.
Centers for Disease Control physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said that the requirement does not unduly limit people’s freedom of movement, but it would help airlines understand passengers’ health conditions and arrange seating to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infections.
If overseas Taiwanese are found to arrive in Taiwan without having provided a negative PCR test result or an affidavit, they would be fined NT$10,000 to NT$150,000.
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