Taiwan announced 22 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday. These new cases bring the total number Taiwan has recorded so far up to 420.
All but one case is part of a cluster aboard a naval supply vessel, the Panshih. This ship was part of a fleet that paid a friendly visit to Palau, a Pacific island nation that is one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies.
Since the ships departed Taiwan in early March and only returned on April 15, the outbreak on the ship is thought to have begun outside of Taiwan. However, Palau has no confirmed cases of COVID-19, and health authorities will need to investigate the outbreak before they can be certain.
The entire 700-plus crew that took part in the mission to Palau- including those on the two other ships- are in quarantine, and the government is testing them for COVID-19 as a precaution.