By/Fresh from Attractions.com compiled and reported
The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced on April 10 that there were 3 new domestic cases, bringing the total to 385, all of which are imported. One more death was reported, raising the total to 6. Minister Chen Shih-chung also released an email proving that Taiwan had already warned about the human-to-human transmission risk of COVID-19 and urged the World Health Organization (WHO) to face the facts and avoid repeated mistakes.
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[Domestic Epidemic Situation]
Three new COVID-19 (Wuhan pneumonia) cases were reported in Taiwan today, all imported. They are a man in his 60s (Case 383), a man in his 70s (Case 384), and a woman in her 20s (Case 385).
The CECC stated that Cases 383 and 384 were both detected through airport testing. Case 383, who has worked long-term in the United States, experienced stomach discomfort, poor appetite, and self-reported fever on March 31 and had sought medical treatment locally in the U.S. Case 384, who has resided in the U.S. for a long time, developed cough with phlegm symptoms on April 3. Both entered Taiwan on April 10 and were tested and reported due to voluntarily declaring their symptoms, leading to their confirmation today.
Case 385, who is studying in France, underwent home quarantine after entering Taiwan on April 3. On April 4, they developed a runny nose and nasal congestion. On April 7, they had a fever and were arranged for medical testing by health authorities that day, leading to their confirmation today.
Email released to counter WHO’s denial that Taiwan had warned about human transmission of this novel pneumonia
After announcing today’s confirmed cases, Minister Chen Shih-chung also made a solemn statement in response to the WHO’s false claims about Taiwan. He said that on December 31, 2019, Taiwan had already reported to the WHO via email. This contradicts the claim by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus that Taiwan did not issue any warnings. The Central Epidemic Command Center issued the following statement on April 11 regarding the WHO's denial that Taiwan had warned about the potential human-to-human transmission of COVID-19 (Wuhan pneumonia):
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) learned from the internet that there were at least seven cases of atypical pneumonia in Wuhan, China. In China, SARS is commonly referred to as “atypical pneumonia,” which is a severe, coronavirus-induced disease with strong human-to-human transmission.
Due to our experience with SARS, we were highly vigilant about this epidemic information. Therefore, on December 31, 2019, we immediately sent an email to the WHO’s “International Health Regulations” (IHR) contact point, requesting further information. Since the epidemic information at the time was unclear and rumors were rampant, to ensure high vigilance among all parties—especially as the timeline of the outbreak was approaching the Chinese New Year, a period of large-scale population movement—we specifically mentioned “atypical pneumonia” in the email, especially noting that “patients had been isolated and treated.” Public health professionals could deduce from this that these cases might involve human-to-human transmission. However, as Taiwan had no confirmed cases at the time, we could not directly state that the disease was transmitted between humans.
The CDC also contacted the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention in hopes of obtaining more epidemic information. However, the WHO IHR contact point only replied that our information had been forwarded to the relevant departments; the Chinese side only provided us with a press release.
As we strongly suspected human-to-human transmission and could not clarify the situation through existing channels, we—on the same day as the notification and confirmation—initiated enhanced border quarantine measures according to procedures for possible human-to-human transmission, and arranged for onboard inspections for flights arriving from Wuhan.
As we strongly suspected human-to-human transmission and could not clarify the situation through existing channels, we—on the same day as the notification and confirmation—initiated enhanced border quarantine measures according to procedures for possible human-to-human transmission, and arranged for onboard inspections for flights arriving from Wuhan.
The CDC also dispatched experts to Wuhan in mid-January to understand the epidemic situation, prevention measures, and patient exposure history. Based on preliminary research, we concluded that this pneumonia does indeed transmit between humans.
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[Epidemic Statistics]
As of April 9, Taiwan reported 1,576 new COVID-19-related notifications, bringing the cumulative total to 45,436 cases (including 40,393 cases ruled out), with 385 confirmed cases (Cases 383 to 385 reported today), comprising 331 imported cases and 54 domestic cases. Of the confirmed cases, 6 have died, 99 have been released from isolation, and the rest remain hospitalized in isolation. The 367 people from Hubei who returned to Taiwan on special charter flights on March 29 and 30 continue to be under close health monitoring at centralized quarantine facilities.
The CECC pointed out that globally, there are 1,640,016 confirmed cases across 184 countries/regions. The highest numbers are in the United States (496,535), Spain (157,022), Italy (147,577), Germany (113,525), and France (90,676). The death toll stands at 101,578, with the most in Italy (18,849), the United States (18,586), Spain (15,843), France (13,197), and the United Kingdom (8,958).