Taiwan reported two new local cases of COVID-19 on Friday. The country also reported six more imported cases among people arriving in Taiwan. There were no deaths reported.
Both the two new local cases are from Keelung City. However, officials from Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center say the two cases do not appear to be linked.
The first of the two new cases is a domestic caregiver in her thirties. Central Epidemic Command Center officials say she tested positive with a relatively high Ct value of 33, which indicates a low viral load. Officials say this strongly implies she was not infected recently.
Authorities say that at the end of May, a member of the family employing the caregiver tested positive for COVID-19. Contact tracing at the time did not identify the caregiver as a potential contact.
However, the Central Epidemic Command Center says given that Taiwan’s contact tracing operation was stretched by a high number of cases at the end of May, it is possible that authorities made a mistake. Center official Lo Yi-chun says it is also possible that there was contact after the initial investigation.
The second case is a woman in her fifties. She tested positive with a relatively high Ct value of 33.2, implying that she, too, was not infected recently.
Taiwan also recorded six imported cases of COVID-19 on Friday. They include travelers from Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and South Africa.