The Central Epidemic Command Center yesterday confirmed a fifth case of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection, urging people returning from China to cooperate with quarantine officers conducting health checks in airports.
The latest case involves a woman who on Monday last week took the same plane from Wuhan, China, as the first Taiwanese reported to have contracted the virus, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said.
The new patient was one of the people being monitored for possible infection, said Chen, who also heads the command center.
Photo: CNA
The woman on Saturday exhibited symptoms, including fever and muscle pain, and was immediately placed in a negative-pressure isolation ward after confirmation of the infection, he said.
Since the center expanded the mandatory reporting requirements for severe pneumonia with novel pathogens, 119 new suspected cases were reported in Taiwan on Sunday, bringing the total to 402 suspected cases of 2019-nCoV infection.
Among the 402, five were confirmed to have the virus, 190 were ruled out, and 207 quarantined for testing, of which 88 showed negative results for the virus in the first test.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said that the latest patient is a woman in her 50s who has been working in Wuhan since October last year.
While the woman took the same plane back to Taiwan as the first confirmed case, she is likely to have been infected in Wuhan, rather than by the other passenger, Chuang said.
As the woman had been on the CDC’s monitoring list, she had been advised to stay home, or wear a mask if she went out, Chuang said.
She had done exercises in open, public areas before the onset of the symptoms on Saturday, and her husband is now being monitored for possible infection, he added.
Chen said the CDC’s airport quarantine officers have reported that some passengers from China have responded in a “disrespectful” manner, such as intentionally coughing at or making fun of the officers, as well as making false statements in the mandatory health declaration form.
“We are warning that anyone who refuses to cooperate with our quarantine officers or is disrespectful toward them will be strictly punished according to the law,” he said.
“Disease prevention is not a game, so we will impose the heaviest punishment for obstructing public officers in discharging their duties,” he added.
The Criminal Code stipulates that people who employ threats or violence against a public official in the performance of their duties may face imprisonment of up to three years, the CDC said.
Travelers who refuse to fill out or make false statements in the health declaration form may be fined up to NT$150,000, according to the Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法), it said.
National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) Director-General Lee Po-chang (李伯璋) said that as the 2019-nCoV has a 14-day incubation period, the command center has asked the National Immigration Agency to give the NHIA a list of all passengers from Wuhan in the past 14 days.
The passengers’ National Health Insurance (NHI) cards would show their Wuhan travel history when they seek medical attention, so doctors would be more alert to possible infection, he said, adding that the policy took effect on Sunday.
Chen said that the policy might be expanded to show not only the travel history of people returning from Wuhan, but also from China’s Hubei Province or other areas where the virus has spread.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
RSS