The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday announced two imported cases of COVID-19 in arrivals from the Philippines and the US.
Each provided a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test result before boarding a flight to Taiwan and neither showed COVID-19 symptoms, the center said.
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC’s spokesperson, said that one of the cases is a Filipino in his 30s who arrived for work on Dec. 14.
Photo: Tsai Yun-jung, Taipei Times
The man stayed at a centralized quarantine facility after arrival and tested positive in a mandatory test before his quarantine ended on Sunday, Chuang said.
The other case is an Indian man in his 30s who lived in the US and was recruited to work in Taiwan, Chuang said, adding that he traveled to Taiwan with three family members on Dec. 13.
The family stayed at a quarantine hotel and the man underwent a paid test at a hospital on Monday that was arranged by his company, Chuang said.
The test result returned positive yesterday, he said, adding that 15 close contacts have been identified, including four people who were ordered into home isolation.
A total of 795 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Taiwan, with 127 people currently hospitalized, he said.
Meanwhile, case No. 790, reported on Monday — a Briton in his 20s who tested positive for COVID-19 on Aug. 29, but tested negative four times between Dec. 9 and Monday last week — underwent total antibody testing, which returned positive.
“He [No. 790] tested negative for Immunoglobulin M [IgM] and positive for IgG,” Chuang said.
Coupled with a cycle threshold value of 34 from a PCR test, the positive result on Monday is probably a result of his infection in August, rather than a new infection, Chuang said.
Detection of IgM indicates a more recent infection, while IgG is an indicator of previous infections, as they remain in the blood for longer, he said.
Regarding another case reported on Monday — No. 792, a Taiwanese teenager who reported a fever during a flight from the UK — Chuang said that the teen’s temperature was normal in two measurements before boarding.
The teenager told authorities that he did not take antipyretics before boarding, so symptoms from an infection contracted in the UK might have developed during the flight, Chuang said.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to