Two Taiwanese who returned home from the US have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the number of cases in the nation to 759, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday.
Upon arrival in Taiwan, the two women had presented negative COVID-19 test results issued within three days of their departures, the center said in a news release.
One of them is in her 50s and arrived in Taiwan on Wednesday last week where she was tested for COVID-19 by local health authorities on Thursday, after the COVID-19 test results of another traveler she arrived in Taiwan with returned positive yesterday, the CECC said.
Photo: CNA
The second woman in her 30s is a pilot who went to the US on Saturday last week and returned to Taiwan on Wednesday, where she was tested after reporting symptoms, the center said.
Her test results returned positive yesterday, it added.
The CECC is investigating were she was infected with COVID-19, whether in the US, during the flight or in Taiwan, Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is CECC spokesman, said at a news briefing yesterday.
Among the nine flight crew members, one other person experienced a cough during the flight, but did not wear a mask, the CECC said.
While the health authorities continue contact tracing, the nine crew members would be tested, the CECC said.
To date, Taiwan has recorded 759 cases of COVID-19, mostly classified as imported.
Of the total, 619 have recovered, seven have died and 133 are in hospital, CECC data show.
Meanwhile, after eight members of a 52-person Russian ballet troupe scheduled to perform in Taiwan this week and next week tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday and Thursday, the remaining 44 troupe members, who tested negative for COVID-19 on Thursday, left Taiwan yesterday, said Yu Tsan-hua (余燦華), who heads the Taipei City Department of Health’s Disease Control Division.
Among the 44 members, the manager, a US citizen, yesterday morning left for the US, while one of the dancers, a Japanese, returned to Japan, Yu said, adding that the other 42 dancers left Taiwan last night on three separate flights.
Staff at the Howard Plaza Hotel, where members of the dance company stayed, did not come into close contact with them and only had brief interaction, greatly lowering the chances of hotel staff being infected, Yu said.
Therefore hotel staff are not required to quarantine, Yu said, adding that the department continues to monitor the situation.
The Moscow Classical Ballet, which arrived in Taiwan on Nov. 29, was originally scheduled to perform from Wednesday to Sunday at the National Theater Hall in Taipei and from Friday next week to Sunday next week at the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, said the concerts’ organizer, udnFunLife.
People who have purchased tickets could apply for a full refund, udnFunLife said.
Additional reporting by Tsai Ya-hua
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