On January 12, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced two new confirmed imported cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Taiwan. The two new cases arrived in Taiwan from the United States (Case #836) and the United Kingdom (Case #837).

Case #836 is a Taiwanese female in her 60s. She resided in the United States for an extended period of time and returned to Taiwan to visit relatives on January 5, 2021. During the home quarantine period, the woman developed a productive cough and runny nose on January 10. The health authority then arranged for her to seek medical attention and undergo COVID-19 testing. Infection with COVID-19 was laboratory-confirmed in the case on January 12.

Case #837 is a British man in his 30s. He traveled to Taiwan for official business on December 29, 2020. After arrival, he stayed at a group quarantine facility to undergo quarantine and was tested for COVID-19 on December 30, and the test result came back negative. The British man hasn't experienced any symptoms since arrival. He was given a test on January 11, 2021, before completing the quarantine period. Infection with COVID-19 was laboratory-confirmed in the case on January 12.

The CECC reported that a cumulative total of 133,005 cases related to COVID-19 have been reported in Taiwan among which COVID-19 has been ruled out in 130,713. Of these reported cases, infection with COVID-19 was laboratory-confirmed in 838 cases (details about Case #838-839 released in another press release). Of the 838 confirmed cases, 741 are imported; 58 are indigenous; 36 are naval crew members aboard the Panshi fast combat support ship; 2 are infections on an aircraft; 1 case has unknown sources of infection; and 1 case (Case #530) has been removed (Case #530 is not assigned to any patients). Of the confirmed cases, there have been 7 deaths, and 730 patients have been released from isolation, with the other 101 patients remaining hospitalized in isolation.