Taiwan on Tuesday reported six new cases of COVID-19, all but one of which were imported cases, and one death from the disease, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
The one domestic infection tied with one infection reported on Aug. 19 for the lowest number of such cases reported in a single day since mid-May, when Taiwan saw a surge in locally transmitted infections.
The new domestic case involved a man in his 70s, who lives in New Taipei, Health and Welfare Minister Chen Shih-chung (???) said at a CECC press briefing.
The man sought medical attention on Aug. 22 for other health problems and then took a COVID-19 test. The results came back positive on Tuesday and the patient’s Ct value was 37.7, indicating a low viral load, the CECC said.
Health authorities identified one of his family members who had contact with him and placed him under home isolation. Contact tracing of others who may have been exposed to the patient is underway, according to Chen.
Meanwhile, the one death was a woman in her 80s with chronic illnesses who was a contact of someone with a confirmed COVID-19 infection. She experienced a loss of appetite on July 27 and passed away that day.
She was tested posthumously for COVID-19 on Aug. 5 because one of her live-in family members was confirmed with the virus, and the results came back positive the next day.
Between May 11 and Aug. 22, 14,727 COVID-19 cases were reported in Taiwan, Chen said, and 92.5 percent of them, or 13,621, have been released from isolation.
The other five imported cases reported Tuesday were all men, in their teens and 40s who recently arrived from Japan, India and Turkey between Aug. 12 and Aug. 22, with proof of a negative COVID-19 test obtained within three days prior to the flight, according to the CECC.
The new cases bring the total in the country to 15,938, of which 14,343 are domestic infections reported since May 15, when the country first recorded more than 100 COVID-19 cases in a single day.
To date, 829 people have died of COVID-19 in Taiwan, including 817 since May 15.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel