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.
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