A Belgian man who tested positive for COVID-19 in Taiwan last week is likely to have contracted the disease in Taipei in late June, National Taiwan University (NTU) College of Public Health vice dean Tony Chen (陳秀熙) said yesterday.
The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Saturday reported that the man, who is in his 20s, came to Taiwan for work on May 3 and tested positive on Wednesday last week as he was about to depart.
The man in March reported loss of taste and smell, the center said, adding that he worked in Changhua County, but visited Taipei several times, and traveled to Yilan County and Taichung this month.
Photo: Wu Po-hsuan, Taipei Times
Although the center has not listed the case as imported or locally acquired, health experts have said that the man might have contracted the disease in Taiwan.
There are four possible scenarios for how the man was infected: He contracted it in Belgium, he had close contact with an infected traveler on his way to Taiwan, he was exposed to an infected person in a local community, or he contracted the disease twice — in Belgium and in Taiwan, Chen said.
Among the four scenarios, contracting the disease in Belgium or being infected twice are the least likely, he said.
The viral load should have significantly reduced after so many weeks if he was infected in Belgium, while genome sequencing of the virus would need to be conducted to determine if he contracted it twice, Chen said.
Based on the cycle threshold value of a real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction test that the man had, he might have been exposed to COVID-19 from June 20 to 26, which includes time that he was in Taipei, Chen said.
“It is impossible that Taiwan has no domestic cases,” he said. “We are only testing people who have symptoms, so we might miss a few asymptomatic cases.”
Tests conducted among people onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, a long-term care facility and in some US states show that the incidence rate of asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic cases could be as high as 60 percent, he said.
People who are asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic might be infectious, although less so than people with symptoms, he said.
While most people in Taiwan who might have had COVID-19, but were asymptomatic, should have recovered by now, three cases — the Belgian, a Japanese student and a Thai migrant worker, who tested positive for the coronavirus before or upon returning to their native country — show that local infections are possible, Chen said.
The three cases might have had low viral loads, so people would have had to have an extended time of close contact with them for the disease to be transmitted, he said, adding that so far contacts of the cases have all tested negative for the disease.
Risk stratification and precise testing should be conducted, especially among six groups at higher risk of infection from an asymptomatic cases, he said.
The groups are: people in healthcare facilities, people in long-term care centers, cruise ship passengers, migrant workers, people at workplaces or other places that they share with foreign nationals, and people in other situations where they have close contact with others for extended periods, he said.
People should keep social distancing, wearing a mask and washing their hands frequently, he said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS