Taipei-Taiwan recorded six new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, all except one of which were imported, and five deaths from the disease, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
The one domestic infection was the lowest number of such cases reported since mid-May, when Taiwan saw a surge in locally transmitted infections, CECC data shows.
The patient, a man in his 50s, lives in New Taipei, the CECC said. He took a COVID-19 test on Wednesday, in preparation for staying with a hospitalized relative, and the results came back positive, the CECC said.
The CECC said it was still looking into how he became infected.
The other five cases reported Thursday were all imported, involving four Taiwanese and a Lithuanian, who recently arrived from the United States, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Lithuania, according to the CECC.
Meanwhile, the five deaths were three men and two women, in their 60s to 80s, who passed away between Aug. 13 and Aug. 17, the CECC said.
Speaking at the CECC press briefing, Health and Welfare Minister Chen Shih-chung (???) said that a new domestic case linked to a cluster at the headquarters of the state-run Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) will be included in Friday’s count.
In that cluster, three employees at the building on Roosevelt Road in Taipei tested positive on July 23, Aug. 11 and Aug. 16, respectively, and two them were people who worked on the seventh floor, according to Chen.
The latest case is a kindergarten child of the employee who tested positive on Aug. 16, Chen said. The child’s 11 classmates and two teachers at the kindergarten are now in quarantine, and the school will be closed for three days for disinfection, he added.
Some 300 employees who work on the seventh floor of the Taipower building have been tested for COVID-19, and the results of those polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests will become available Friday, according to Chen.
To date, Taiwan has confirmed a total of 15,897 COVID-19 cases, 14,324 of which are domestic infections reported since May 15, when the country first recorded more than 100 cases in a single day.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the country has risen to 826, with all but 12 recorded since May 15, CECC data showed.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel