Taiwan on Friday confirmed two more cases of infection from the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) , which originated in Wuhan, China, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in Taiwan to three.
The two new cases were a Chinese woman in her 50s and a Taiwanese man in his 50s, who both entered Taiwan from China on Jan. 21, according to Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Center.
The Chinese woman traveled to Taiwan with an 18-member tour group from Wuhan. The group was originally scheduled to depart Taiwan on Jan. 28, but following the diagnosis, it was asked to cancel all activities and its members were asked to return to their hotel, Tourism Bureau Director-General Chou Yung-hui (周永暉) said at a press conference.
So far, none of the other members have shown symptoms of the disease, said Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩), who heads the command center.
Meanwhile, the Taiwanese man who was diagnosed with the virus is a businessman based in Wuhan, according to the center.
The man thought he had just caught a cold and had went to see a doctor in Wuhan and had taken medicine before he flew back to Taiwan, according to the center.
Health authorities said they are closely monitoring the conditions of the infected individuals and those who have come in contact with them.
As of 4 p.m. Friday, a total of 168 suspected cases of the new coronavirus had been reported in Taiwan. Three were confirmed as having the 2019-nCoV, while 42 cases were ruled out, according to the latest statistics from the center.