Taiwan has put over 100 people under coronavirus or COVID-19 quarantine as it probes its first possible local case of the deadly novel virus in more than two months, a Japanese woman who got tested positive last week, the government mentioned on Wednesday.
Taiwan's early and effective response has kept the virus outbreak at bay, with only 446 cases and seven deaths, the majority of the virus cases being imported and having already got recovered.
Taiwan Put Over 100 People Under COVID-19 Quarantine
Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Centre said Japan had notified them on Tuesday that the woman, who arrived on the island as a student in late February, tested positive after returning to Japan on June 20, though she was asymptomatic. More than 100 people who had contact with her in Taiwan have been placed under quarantine, it added.
Health Minister Chen Shih-chung told reporters in Taipei authorities were awaiting further details before formally classifying the case, but that it could have been acquired while she was in Taiwan and he could not rule out local transmission. "Taiwan has already seen 73 days with no local cases, but we must still raise our vigilance," he added.
Taiwan effectively closed its borders to most foreigners in mid-March and has been extremely cautious about reopening them in case of the second wave of infections. Life in Taiwan has generally carried on as normal with none of the lockdowns seen in other parts of the world, though the government has encouraged social distancing and face masks are widely worn in public.
(With agency inputs)
