Taiwan reports 7 COVID cases imported from Philippines, Indonesia, Japan

台灣傳出7例從菲律賓、印度尼西亞、日本移入的冠狀病毒病例

8 contacts listed for Taiwanese man who tested positive for COVID after quarantine


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Wednesday (May 5) announced seven imported cases of COVID-19.

Health Minister and CECC head Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) announced that the latest cases include one Filipino, four Indonesians, one Japanese, and one Taiwanese during a press conference on Wednesday.

Each had submitted negative results of a test taken within three days of their flights and were sent directly to an epidemic prevention hotel or a quarantine center upon arrival. Contacts are not listed unless the cases interacted with others during the infectious period.

According to Chen, case No. 1,155 is a female migrant worker from the Philippines in her 20s who came to Taiwan for work on April 20. As her quarantine was set to end, she underwent a coronavirus test on May 3 and received a positive result on May 5, with a Ct value of 31.

Case No. 1,156 is an Indonesian fishery worker in his 30s who came to Taiwan for work on April 20. As his quarantine was coming to an end, he was tested for the coronavirus on May 3 and was diagnosed with the disease on May 5.

Chen stated that case No. 1,157 is a Japanese man in his 40s who came to Taiwan for business on April 28. He began to experience an itchy throat and muscle soreness on May 2 and was tested for the virus on May 3. He was diagnosed with COVID-19 on May 5, with a Ct value of 21.

One contact has been listed in his case and has been told to begin self-health monitoring, as the person had worn proper protective gear.

Case No. 1,158 is a Taiwanese male in his 20s who went to the U.S. for work in September of last year. While in the U.S., he was diagnosed with COVID-19 on March 23 of this year and returned to Taiwan on April 11.

After completing his quarantine on April 26, he returned to his home. As required by his employer, he took a self-paid coronavirus test on May 3 and was diagnosed with COVID-19 on May 5, with a Ct value of 31. He was positive for both IgM and IgG antibodies.

The health department has identified eight contacts in his case, three of whom have entered home isolation, while five have started self-health monitoring.

Chen said that case No. 1,159 is an Indonesian woman in her 20s and case No. 1,160 is an Indonesian in his teens, both of whom came to Taiwan to study on April 21. Because their quarantines were set to end, they were tested for the disease on May 4 and received positive results on May 5, with case No. 1,159 having a Ct value of 33 and case No. 1,160 having a Ct value of 34.

Case No. 1,161 is an Indonesian male fishery worker in his teens who came to Taiwan for work on April 21. As his quarantine was set to expire, he was tested for the coronavirus on May 4 and was diagnosed with COVID-19 on the next day.

Since the outbreak began, Taiwan has carried out 211,543 COVID-19 tests, with 209,384 coming back negative. Out of the 1,160 confirmed cases, 1,016 were imported, 94 were local, 36 came from the Navy's "Goodwill Fleet," two were from a cargo pilot cluster, and one was an unresolved case.

One person (case No. 530) was removed as a confirmed case. The status of one recent case has yet to be determined, and 11 cases are currently under investigation.

Up until now, 12 individuals have succumbed to the disease in the country, while 1,074 have been released from hospital isolation, leaving 74 patients still undergoing treatment.

The cycle threshold (Ct) value refers to how many cycles at which fluorescence of the PCR test is detectable. The higher the number of cycles, the longer the virus had gone undetected, while the lower the cycle number, the more recent the infection had occurred, and therefore the higher the viral load.

Antibody tests are used to determine whether a COVID-19 infection has occurred, what stage it has reached, and whether a person could still be infectious. If a person is negative for both IgM and IgG antibodies, there is no evidence of infection.

If IgM is positive and IgG is negative, it indicates the patient is at an early stage of the disease. If IgM is positive and IgG is positive, the patient is likely at the intermediate stage of the disease, while a negative IgM and a positive IgG signifies that the patient is in the recovery phase and is not infectious.