Taiwan confirms two indigenous cases of COVID-19; people in contact with them being monitored


According to the Central Epidemic Command Center, two more cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been confirmed in Taiwan. The first case is a male in his 60s, with a history of hepatitis B and diabetes. He had no recent overseas travel history, and no known contact with COVID-19 confirmed cases. The patient began to cough January 27, and went to a hospital February 3 for shortness of breath, where he was diagnosed with pneumonia. He was hospitalized in a negative pressure isolation ward the same day. On the evening of February 15, the patient died of pneumonia-induced sepsis. With his family members’ consent, the patient’s remains will be cremated in accordance with legal requirements for communicable diseases. Tissue specimens will first be taken for further testing. 

The second confirmed case is a male in his 50s, a member of the first case’s family. He was confirmed infected with COVID-19 after lab tests February 15. So far, this patient shows no symptoms of COVID-19, and is being treated in a negative pressure isolation ward. 

Since February 12, the CECC has traced the severe complicated influenza cases reported by healthcare facilities on and after January 31 and tested negative for influenza, and instructed relevant authorities to test these cases for COVID-19. As of February, 113 tissue specimens have been tested, and the first patient was the only case tested positive for the novel coronavirus, indicated by the CECC.
 
PublishTime 2020/2/16