The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported one additional COVID-19 case related to the navy’s “Friendship Flotilla,” bringing the infection cluster to 30 cases.
All 30 cases served on the Panshih (磐石), one of the three vessels in the flotilla, which visited Palau from March 12 to 15. The crews of the ships disembarked in Kaohsiung on Wednesday last week.
The Ministry of National Defense on Thursday released documents showing that the flotilla had sailed through the South China Sea on its return to Taiwan.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
The center has not confirmed the source of the infection cluster, while the Palauan Ministry of Health yesterday said that there were no suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country.
The new case is a man in his 30s who served on the Panshih and tested negative for the novel coronavirus on Saturday last week, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said at the center’s daily briefing in Taipei yesterday.
The man on Wednesday began experiencing symptoms such as an abnormal sense of smell, a runny nose and nasal congestion, and tested positive on Thursday, said Chen, who heads the center.
Authorities have identified 1,843 people who had contact with the 30 cases from the ship, center data showed.
Among the 1,843 people, 530 have been placed in home isolation, including 91 who tested negative for the disease, while the remaining 1,313 are required to conduct self-health management, the data showed.
As of Tuesday, 24 Taiwanese at the nation’s embassy and technical mission in Palau, as well as 24 Palauans, including seven who boarded the Panshih, had tested negative for the disease, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
As the embassy personnel are healthy, they would not receive further tests, it said, adding that Palau has arranged for other Taiwanese in the country who had contact with the flotilla’s crew to receive tests.
As of yesterday, there were 428 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including six fatalities, in Taiwan — 343 imported cases and 55 local infections, as well as the navy’s 30 cases, which have been listed as an independent infection cluster, center data showed.
CECC advisory specialist panel convener Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳) said that clinical trials of drugs should be comprised of a series of rigorous steps and that any conclusions reached before pharmaceutical companies issue an evaluation report would be incomplete.
Chang made the remarks when asked to comment on a Financial Times report on Thursday saying that the experimental antiviral drug remdesivir — considered a potential treatment for COVID-19 — failed its first randomized clinical trial in China.
Taiwan is also participating in the drug’s ongoing multinational trials, Chang said, adding that participating nations are required to abide by confidentiality agreements.
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
RSS