31 confirmed COVID cases missing in Taipei

台北31筆冠狀病毒確診案例失聯

Missing cases gave incorrect phone numbers, addresses or had illegible handwriting


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei police are searching for 31 city residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 but failed to provide adequate contact information.

On Sunday (May 23), the Taipei City Police Department was notified by the Taipei City Department of Health that it had been unable to locate 90 confirmed COVID-19 cases. According to the Taipei City Government, the authorities have been unable to contact these cases because they failed to fill out all the fields on the registration forms they submitted before receiving a coronavirus test.

The police department on Sunday stated that the health department had notified it at around 6:30 p.m. Saturday (May 22) that it had lost contact with these confirmed cases, reported CNA. By 10 p.m. on Saturday evening, 40 had contacted the health department, leaving 50 still unaccounted for.

On Sunday, police announced that they had found 19 more cases, with 31 still missing. Taipei City Deputy Spokeswoman Huang Ching-ying (黃瀞瑩) explained that these individuals had gone to hospitals to undergo PCR tests.

After the tests, they returned to their homes to await the results. However, Huang said the information they had provided to the hospitals, such as phone numbers and addresses, was incomplete, incorrect, or difficult to read.

As a result, after the patients were diagnosed, the hospital was unable to contact them. They have since been placed on a list of positive cases that are unaccounted for, and police are attempting to locate them as soon as possible.

Huang said it is impossible to determine how long these persons have been missing. Because they do not know they have been diagnosed, Huang said they will not be fined.

She said the next step will be to list their contacts in accordance with procedures and issue a home isolation order. Huang reminded the public that after receiving a PCR test, they should not leave their homes for at least three days.