TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Wednesday (Feb. 24) confirmed four imported COVID-19 infections from the U.S. and Malaysia, all of whom tested positive for a second time after their quarantines had ended.

Health Minister and CECC head Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) announced four imported infections on Wednesday, raising the total number of cases in the country to 946. The latest imported cases include one American national and three Taiwanese citizens with 44 persons listed as their contacts.

Each had submitted negative results of a test taken within three days of their flight and was sent directly to their residence or a quarantine center upon arrival in Taiwan.

Chen said that case No. 944 is an American male in his 30s who tested positive for COVID-19 in the U.S. on Jan. 5 of this year. Prior to visiting Taiwan, he underwent three more coronavirus tests on Jan. 26, Jan. 27, and Feb. 3, all of which came back negative.

On Feb. 5, he arrived in Taiwan to engage in business dealings and did not report experiencing any symptoms to quarantine officers. His quarantine expired on Feb. 21, and on Feb. 22, he went to a hospital to undergo a coronavirus test at his own expense.

He was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Feb. 24. His Ct values measured on Feb. 22 and 23 both registered at 34. A blood test showed that he was negative for IgM antibodies but positive for IgG antibodies.

Since he was asymptomatic throughout his quarantine and all persons who interacted with him wore proper protective gear, the health department has not listed any contacts in his case.

Case No. 945 is a Taiwanese woman in her 30s who has lived in the U.S. for an extended period of time. She most recently departed Taiwan in November of 2018. On Oct. 30 of last year, she started to notice a sore throat and soon tested positive for COVID-19 while still in the U.S.

By Nov. 3, her symptoms improved noticeably. A second coronavirus test then came back negative on Dec. 30.

When she returned to Taiwan on Jan. 3 of this year, she did not report experiencing any symptoms of the disease to quarantine officers. She completed her quarantine and self-health monitoring period without noticing any symptoms.

Due to the fact that she was preparing to travel overseas again, she underwent another coronavirus test on Feb. 22 and tested positive for COVID-19 on Feb. 24. Her Ct value came in at 34 and tested negative for IgM antibodies, but she received a positive result for IgG antibodies.

The health department has identified 17 contacts in her case, all of whom have been told to begin home isolation.

Case No. 946 is a Taiwanese man in his 40s who has worked in Malaysia for a long period of time, with his last departure from Taiwan being December of 2019. On Nov. 30 of last year, he developed a fever and had abnormalities with his sense of smell and taste.

After testing positive for COVID-19, he was placed in a hospital isolation ward. On Dec. 12, he was discharged from the hospital.

Two subsequent coronavirus tests taken on Jan. 14 and 27 of this year came back negative. On Jan. 29, he returned to Taiwan and has been asymptomatic since arriving in the country.

As he was preparing to travel abroad, he went to a hospital to undergo a coronavirus test which he paid out of pocket on Feb. 21. He was confirmed to have COVID-19 on Feb. 24.

His Ct value came in at 36, while he tested negative for IgM antibodies and positive for IgG antibodies. The health department has listed 16 contacts in his case, all of whom have been told to begin home isolation.

Case No. 947 is a Taiwanese woman in her 30s who worked in the U.S. for a long period of time, having most recently departed from Taiwan in May of 2019. Last last year, she started to experience abnormalities in her sense of taste and smell and tested positive for COVID-19 on Dec. 2, while still in the U.S.

Subsequent coronavirus tests taken on Dec. 31 of last year and Jan. 6 of this year both came back negative. She returned to Taiwan on Jan. 9 and did not experience any symptoms while undergoing quarantine.

Because she was preparing to travel overseas, she underwent an out-of-pocket coronavirus test at a nearby hospital on Feb. 22. She was diagnosed with COVID-19 again on Feb. 24.

Measurements for her Ct value implemented on Feb. 22 and Feb. 23 were found to be 33 and 32, respectively. Tests for IgM and IgG antibodies both came back positive.

The health department has listed 11 contacts in her case, all of whom have been told to commence self-health monitoring.