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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 CECC reports only three domestic COVID-19 cases
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center, speaks at the center’s daily news briefing in Taipei yesterday. Photo courtesy of the Central Epidemic Command Center
By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
The Central Epidemic Command Center （CECC） yesterday reported eight new COVID-19 cases, marking the third consecutive day of a single-digit case count, and one death.
Three of the cases were locally transmitted — the lowest single-day number since the middle of May — and five were imported, it said.
One of the local cases tested positive during isolation, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung （陳時中）, who heads the center, adding that the infection sources of two cases have been identified, while one had an unclear source of infection.
“The three [local] cases were all from New Taipei City,” he said. “This marks the fewest cities and counties with confirmed cases reported in a day, and the infection sources of most cases are clear, so on the whole, the COVID-19 situation is under control.”
The five imported cases were Taiwanese who returned from France, Indonesia, Switzerland and the US, the CECC said.
Two had been fully inoculated against COVID-19 before returning home, but they still tested positive, it said.
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo （羅一鈞）, deputy chief of the CECC’s medical response division, said one is a woman in her 30s who received two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on June 9 and July 1, and returned from the US on Sunday.
The other case is a man in his 60s who also received two doses of the same brand on June 12 and July 9, Lo said.
The man tested positive in the US on June 25, but tested negative upon arriving in Taiwan on July 27, and then tested positive upon ending quarantine, Lo said.
The sole death was a woman in her 50s who had underlying health conditions and was exposed to a confirmed case, CECC data showed.
As the CECC eased restrictions and allowed some venues to reopen yesterday, Chen was asked whether the policy applied to skincare businesses, beaches and Internet cafes and study centers.
Chen said that reopening must be conducted step by step, and that while the Ministry of Economic Affairs is negotiating with skincare businesses regarding disease prevention measures, the center is concerned about infection risks in case service providers do not thoroughly practice hand hygiene.
As swimming pools only resumed operations yesterday, the center would observe the situation and consider if beaches could be reopened, but Internet cafes or study centers might have to wait longer before reopening, he said.
Additional reporting by CNA
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
