Taiwan implemented a stricter screening regime Feb. 16 as part of government efforts to prevent an outbreak of COVID-19 that was first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.
According to the Centers for Disease Control under the Ministry of Health and Welfare, mandatory screening is now required for all individuals who have not been tested for the virus but have since Jan. 31 exhibited severe flu-like indications, been under community monitoring for upper-respiratory symptoms or are part of a localized cluster of upper-respiratory infections.
In addition, individuals with fever or respiratory distress must be reported to the CDC if they either have traveled abroad or been in contact with foreign visitors displaying such symptoms in the previous 14 days; are pneumonia patients who work in medical institutions or whose condition has not improved after three days of antibiotic treatment; or are part of a localized cluster of respiratory infections.
The new measures will help identify infections as soon as possible to prevent spread of the virus in communities and hospitals, the CDC said.
Statistics by the Central Epidemic Command Center under the CDC reveal 20 confirmed cases of the virus in Taiwan as of Feb. 16, with 68,502 identified in China and 740 reported in 27 other countries and territories. (SFC-E)
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