#14,877
Taiwan's CDC announced two new COVID-19 cases this morning - both apparently locally acquired and while the translated syntax is a bit kludgy, both appear to be members of the same household. While one case (M,50s) is asymptomatic, the other (M,60) fell ill in late January and was hospitalized with pneumonia on February 3rd.
The patient - aged 60, who had comorbidities - condition deteriorated, and yesterday (Feb 15th) he died of a combination of sepsis and pneumonia.It is not clear exactly when this patient was tested and diagnosed. Since he did not fit the standard criteria for COVID-19 testing (recent travel to China and/or contact with a known case), he appears to have slipped through the cracks until quite recently.
As more and more cases not meeting this initial criteria begin to turn up (see Japan MOH: 3 More COVID-19 Cases In Wakayama Prefecture), health officials will have to consider casting a wider net (see CDC/HHS To Phase In Wider Surveillance For COVID-19).
Two local cases of Wuhan pneumonia have been added in China
Release Date: 2020-02-16
The Central Epidemic Situation Command Center announced today (16th) that two new cases of COVID-19 (Wuhan Pneumonia) have been diagnosed in China, the first of which is male, 60 years old in central China, with a history of hepatitis B and diabetes, no history of overseas travel, and no known close contact with confirmed cases. He had a cough on January 27 and was diagnosed with pneumonia on February 3. On the same day, he was treated in a negative pressure intensive care unit.
The case died of pneumonia combined with septicemia in the evening of February 15. His body was cremated with the consent of his family, according to the legal provisions on infectious diseases, and some of the examination bodies were kept for further examination. The second case, the male family in their 50s, was diagnosed yesterday after sampling. The present case is asymptomatic and is in the negative pressure isolation ward.
The Center said that since February 12, the Center has conducted a retrospective examination of the COVID-19 (Wuhan Pneumonia) virus in response to a case reported by a national medical institution that the flu is serious and has been tested negative. As of February 15, 113 tests had been completed, and the present case was the only one that tested positive.
The Command Center has 79 persons in close contact with the first case, including family members who have been together since the onset of the disease, and persons in the hospital and persons in close contact with the second case. As of now, 73 persons have been tested (including 7 with symptoms), of whom 60 are negative, 1 positive (case 20) and the rest are still under test.
Follow-up, sampling and isolation will continue, and the remaining contacts will continue to be investigated. The hospital has taken temporary control measures against patients in intensive care units. In addition, a retrospective tracing investigation is carried out to find out the possible source of infection for those who have traveled and may be exposed 14 days before the occurrence of the case.
