Cameroonian among first imported Covid-19 cases in Taiwan

Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Friday (Jan. 22) confirmed two new domestic and six imported cases of the Wuhan coronavirus.

The cases, announced by CECC head Chen Shih-chung, bring the country’s total to 881. The latest imported cases include a man from Cameroon, the first person from that country to be diagnosed with COVID-19 in Taiwan, as well as a Taiwanese citizen and four migrant fisheries workers.

Each case had submitted a negative result of a coronavirus test taken within three days of his flight, and each went directly to their residence to begin quarantine upon arrival in Taiwan.

Chen said that Case No. 875 is a Cameroonian male in his 30s who works in Taiwan. He had returned to Cameroon in early December of last year.

When he returned to Taiwan on Jan. 5, he did not report experiencing any symptoms to quarantine officers. After the end of his quarantine, he took a coronavirus test at his own expense on Jan. 20 and was diagnosed with on Jan. 22.

Since the man is asymptomatic and those who interacted with him at the quarantine facility and hospital wore adequate protective equipment, no contacts have been listed.

Case No. 876 is a Taiwanese male who had been working in Indonesia since last August. On Jan. 1 of this year, he began to experience a sore throat and abnormalities with his sense of smell and taste.

He chose to take over-the-counter medication and did not seek medical attention. When he returned to Taiwan on Jan. 19, he informed quarantine officers that he had been experiencing symptoms of the virus and underwent a coronavirus test at the airport.

He tested positive for COVID-19 on Jan. 22. The health department has identified eight passengers who sat near him on the flight and nine crew members.

The passengers have been told to begin home isolation, while the crew members have been asked to start self-health monitoring, as they were deemed to have worn proper protective gear.

Cases 877, 878, 879, and 880 are all male fisheries workers in their 20s and 30s. Three are Indonesian (Cases 877, 879, and 880), and one is Filipino (Case No. 878).

The four came to Taiwan for work on Jan. 7 and have been asymptomatic so far. The four were tested for the coronavirus on Jan. 20, as their quarantines were set to end, and were diagnosed on Jan. 22.

Since all four have been asymptomatic throughout and did not come in contact with others during their quarantine, no contacts have been listed in their cases.

Since the outbreak began, Taiwan has carried out 142,424 COVID-19 tests, with 139,699 coming back negative. Out of the 881 officially confirmed cases, 774 were imported, 68 were local, 36 came from the Navy’s “Goodwill Fleet,” two were from a cargo pilot cluster, one is an unresolved case, and one (Case No. 530) was removed as a confirmed case.

Up until now, seven individuals have succumbed to the disease, while 777 have been released from hospital isolation, leaving 97 patients still undergoing treatment in Taiwan.

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