Taiwan has a new confirmed infection of COVID-19, raising the total number of infections to 24, including one death. The novel coronavirus originating in China has claimed more than 2,100 lives and infected over 75,000 people, mostly in China.
The patient is a woman in her 60s who hasn’t gone abroad for two years. Health authorities are still investigating how she got infected with the disease. The patient was diagnosed with pneumonia and hospitalized about three weeks ago after developing a fever and cough. On Wednesday, Health authorities confirmed that she was infected with COVID-19.
While the patient’s infection sources are unclear, health authorities have been able to trace the source of another infection that led to Taiwan’s first fatality. The source came from a Taiwanese businessman based in China.
Meanwhile, President Tsai Ing-wen said Taiwan does not meet the requirements for “community spread.” That’s because it only has sporadic cases. Tsai was responding to the travel information posted by the US Centers for Disease Control on its website. The website says several Asian countries, including Taiwan, are destinations with “apparent community spread.” The website says community spread means “people have been infected with the virus, including some who are not sure how or where they became infected.”
Also on Thursday, the health ministry said it is well-prepared to handle the worst in this outbreak.