CORONAVIRUS/Taiwan records four new imported COVID-19 cases

Taipei, Oct. 16 (CNA) Taiwan confirmed four new imported cases of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the total number in the country to 535 since the pandemic began at the end of last year, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said that day.

The four new imported cases, all asymptomatic, were Indonesian students, two males and two females aged between 10 and 30 years old who entered Taiwan Sept. 30 to attend school, the CECC said at a news briefing.

The students were sent to four different quarantine hotels upon arrival and were tested on Thursday after their mandatory 14-day quarantine was completed, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, said at the news briefing in Taipei.

The initial results came back positive Friday, Chen said, adding that tests for antibodies are still underway.

The students were tested because Taiwan requires arriving international students to undergo testing when they complete their 14-day quarantine, Chen said.

A total of 220 people, including those who shared the same flights and other transportation with the students, have so far been identified through contact tracing, Chen said.

To date, Taiwan has recorded 535 cases of COVID-19, with 443 classified as imported. Of the total, 491 have recovered, seven have died and 37 are in the hospital, according to CECC data. The last time Taiwan recorded a domestic infection was on April 12.

Meanwhile, Indonesia reported 4,127 new cases on Thursday, bringing the total number in the country to 344,749, including 12,156 deaths.