The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 121 new COVID-19 cases — 118 imported and three local.
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC’s spokesman, said the imported cases include 64 people who tested positive upon arrival at airports.
Thirty-eight were from Vietnam, 10 from Indonesia, seven from the US, six from the Philippines and five from Hong Kong, CECC data showed.
Photo courtesy of the Central Epidemic Command Center
Yesterday’s imported case count was a slight decline from Saturday’s 120, the nation’s highest daily imported case count.
Asked about a possible reason for the high numbers, Chuang said the mandatory quarantine period was on March 7 shortened from 14 days to 10, so people quarantined under the old and new policy ended quarantine and underwent testing at about the same time over the past few days, leading to a rise in case numbers.
The three local cases are from Taipei, Tainan and Chiayi County, Chuang said.
Two of them are linked to a cluster associated with a wedding banquet in Chiayi on Sunday last week, he said.
The Taipei case — a man in his 20s — was one of the attendees at the banquet and developed a sore throat on Saturday, Chuang said.
He used a rapid test on his own, which was positive, and he was later confirmed positive at a hospital, with a cycle threshold (Ct) value of 16, he said.
The case in Chiayi County — a woman in her 60s — did not attend the wedding, but is the wife of a previous case who did, Chuang said.
She was tested on Friday, which came back positive, with a Ct value of 18, he said.
The case in Tainan is linked to a previous cluster involving a tour group and a hospital in the city, Chuang said, adding that the case is a family member of a previous case, and she tested positive upon ending isolation yesterday, with a Ct value of 16.
Separately, a previous case — an elementary school principal who attended the banquet — underwent testing on Friday, after another attendee was confirmed positive on Thursday, but did not wait for his test result and attended another banquet on Friday evening. He was confirmed to have COVID-19 on Saturday.
The Chiayi County Government yesterday imposed a fine of NT$15,000 on the principal, as he was supposed to be practicing self-health management, including avoiding crowded public gatherings, while waiting for the test result.
Additional reporting by CNA
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