CASE CLOSED: The Central Epidemic Command Center has ended an investigation into more than 250 people who came in contact with Taiwan’s first COVID-19 death

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 23, 2020
By: Lee I-chia  /  Staff reporter

The Central Epidemic Command Center yesterday raised the travel advisories for Japan and South

Korea to a level 2 “alert” — “practice enhanced precautions” — after rapidly rising numbers of locally transmitted COVID-19 infections were reported.

Japan has 110 confirmed cases spread over 14 prefectures, while South Korea has 346 confirmed cases, the center said, adding that more than 70 percent of cases in both countries are suspected of being locally transmitted with an unknown source of infection, and clusters of healthcare-associated infections have been reported.

As the two countries are popular destinations among Taiwanese, the center has decided to elevate the travel advisories, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said, adding that additional border controls might be imposed if the epidemic situations deteriorate.

Travel to Japan or South Korea in the previous 30 days would also be flagged in the National Health Insurance (NHI) information of returning Taiwanese, said Chen, who heads the center.
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