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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Fifth pilot confirmed with virus
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA
EXPANDED TESTING: The CECC is investigating the source of infection and has identified 14 close contacts of the pilot, who last flew to Japan before testing positive
By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
Another airline pilot has been diagnosed with COVID-19, and a man who was found dead during quarantine last week was also infected, the Central Epidemic Command Center （CECC） reported yesterday.
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang （莊人祥）, who is the CECC’s spokesman, said the pilot was screened in an expanded testing program on Thursday and his test came back positive.
He is the fifth China Airlines （CAL, 華航） cargo plane pilot to test positive for COVID-19 over the past week.
Two Taiwanese pilots were confirmed to have COVID-19 on Tuesday and two Indonesian pilots were reported to have it on Friday. One of the Indonesians tested positive during a layover in Australia and the other in a self-paid test on Wednesday.
The latest case — No. 1,092 — is a Taiwanese in his 40s who had flown to New Zealand and the Netherlands between April 9 and Friday last week, Chuang said, adding that he twice tested negative for COVID-19 on those dates.
He did not show any symptoms during the flights and was quarantined for three days after returning to Taiwan, Chuang said.
As he tested negative upon ending quarantine on Monday, he flew a short-haul flight to Japan and returned on Thursday, he said.
He was again tested on Thursday, as he was found to have come into close contact with the confirmed case in Australia on April 7, Chuang said, adding that his test came back positive for COVID-19 infection, but negative for antibodies against the novel coronavirus.
The source of infection is being investigated and 14 close contacts have been identified, he said, adding that five have been placed under home isolation and nine under self-health management.
Even though case No. 1,092 had come into contact with the pilot in Australia on April 7, the source of infection is unlikely to be that pilot, as case No. 1,092 tested negative afterward.
Further contact tracing is needed to clarify whether he contracted the disease during layovers overseas or from his close contacts, he said.
As for the expanded testing planned for 1,272 CAL pilots, he said they would be tested in groups starting tomorrow, with about 470 pilots in the first group, followed by about 390 pilots in the second group.
The remaining 412 pilots who are on duty would hopefully be tested before Saturday, he said.
Chuang said 235 EVA Airways Corp （長榮航空） pilots have received a COVID-19 shot, but only 44 CAL pilots have received one.
Citing CAL’s plan to complete the vaccination of its crew members by the end of next month, Chuang said he hoped that the airline can renegotiate its vaccination arrangements with its contracted hospital to streamline the process.
The CECC yesterday reported six new imported COVID-19 cases, including a Taiwanese man in his 70s who was found dead on Wednesday morning. He was under quarantine at a hotel following his return from the Philippines on April 8.
Chuang said the man had on Monday reported feeling depressed and a loss of appetite.
The local health department arranged for him to see a doctor on the same day, but he was not tested for COVID-19, as he did not have a fever or respiratory symptoms, he said.
He returned to his hotel room to complete quarantine and no abnormal health conditions were found, he added.
However, hotel staff found him dead in his room after noticing that had not picked up his breakfast on Wednesday morning, Chuang said, adding that he tested positive for COVID-19 in a post-mortem examination.
The other imported cases are two Filipinos, two Indonesians and an Indian, he said.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
