The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported one new COVID-19 case, a cadet who had been aboard the navy supply ship Panshih (磐石) adding that the cadet tested positive in a second test, but had antibodies.
Between Saturday last week and Tuesday, the center reported 27 confirmed cases who were crew members of the Panshih, one of the three vessels making up a “Friendship Flotilla” that visited Palau.
After the first case was confirmed on Saturday, all 744 officers, sailors and cadets on board the three vessels were recalled for testing and ordered into quarantine for 14 days.
Photo: Chang Yi-chen, Taipei Times
From March 23, the cadet, in his 20s, started coughing, developed a fever and experienced a loss of smell, but his condition improved after taking medicine, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center.
The cadet tested negative after arriving at a quarantine facility on Saturday, but after having a stuffy nose and losing his sense of smell on Sunday, he was given another test, which came back positive yesterday, Chen said.
Five crew members who sought treatment for fever from the Panshih’s medical officer between March 21 and March 26 had antibody blood tests at the quarantine center, CECC advisory specialist panel convener Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳) reported on Monday, adding that three of them had antibodies, but tested negative.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The new case was one of the people who had antibodies, but he tested positive in the second examination, Chang said.
After the body of an infected person begins to produce antibodies, the virus usually weakens, but might not immediately disappear, so there might be a period in which both the antibodies and the virus can be detected, he said.
People with the antibody and the virus are likely to test negative sometimes and positive other times — but the virus is typically more difficult to culture at this stage, so the risk of such people transmitting the virus to others is lessened, Chang said.
Asked about some countries wanting to conduct wide-scale antibody testing so that people with immunity could return to work, Chang said that the concept has a scientific base, as people with antibodies are believed to be safe from contracting the virus again.
However, whether people who have the antibody and the virus at the same time can infect others needs further study, Chang said.
So far, 28 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed among crew members of the Panshih and 692 people have been identified as having had direct contact with them, Chen said, adding that 446 of those identified have been placed in home quarantine and 246 of them were practicing self-health management.
Department of Medical Affairs Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said that 229 Taiwanese from China’s Hubei Province and 14 crew landed in Taiwan on a “quasi-charter flight” from Shanghai at about 9:15pm on Tuesday.
One passenger had a mild fever and respiratory symptoms. They were isolated and tested, but the results came back negative, he said, adding that the other passengers were settled in quarantine facilities and received their first test.
All 231 Taiwanese who arrived on a quasi-charter flight from China’s Hubei Province on Monday evening tested negative in the first test, he added.
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
CROSSED A LINE: While entertainers working in China have made pro-China statements before, this time it seriously affected the nation’s security and interests, a source said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) late on Saturday night condemned the comments of Taiwanese entertainers who reposted Chinese statements denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty. The nation’s cross-strait affairs authority issued the statement after several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑), Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) and Michelle Chen (陳妍希), on Friday and Saturday shared on their respective Sina Weibo (微博) accounts a post by state broadcaster China Central Television. The post showed an image of a map of Taiwan along with the five stars of the Chinese flag, and the message: “Taiwan is never a country. It never was and never will be.” The post followed remarks
INVESTMENT WATCH: The US activity would not affect the firm’s investment in Taiwan, where 11 production lines would likely be completed this year, C.C. Wei said Investments by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in the US should not be a cause for concern, but rather seen as the moment that the company and Taiwan stepped into the global spotlight, President William Lai (賴清德) told a news conference at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday alongside TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家). Wei and US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday announced plans to invest US$100 billion in the US to build three advanced foundries, two packaging plants, and a research and development center, after Trump threatened to slap tariffs on chips made
CONSISTENT COMMITMENT: The American Institute in Taiwan director said that the US would expand investment and trade relationships to make both nations more prosperous The US would not abandon its commitment to Taiwan, and would make Taiwan safer, stronger and more prosperous, American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said. “The US’ commitment to Taiwan has been consistent over many administrations and over many years, and we will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan, including our opposition to any attempt to use force or coercion to change Taiwan’s status,” he said in an exclusive interview with the Liberty Times (the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) on Friday last week, which was published in the Chinese-language newspaper yesterday. The US would double down on its efforts