By Riyaz ul Khaliq
ANKARA (AA) – Taiwan has found the first local coronavirus case since April this year, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday, ending the world’s longest stretch without a domestic infection.
The island nation, which China sees as a “breakaway province”, has witnessed low infection rate since the outbreak and most of the cases reported have been those imported from overseas.
Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said the local case was in close contact with a New Zealand pilot who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 last Sunday.
It is the first time since April 12 – after a break of 254 days – that a domestically transmitted case has been reported in Taiwan.
The local case is a woman in her 30s.
The New Zealand pilot is said to have been part of a group of three cargo plane pilots.
Authorities said the pilot, in his 60, had traveled around northern Taiwan from Dec. 8 to 11.
His co-pilots – a female Taiwanese pilot and a male Japanese pilot – also tested positive.
The authorities also announced three new cases on Tuesday – all coming from the Philippines.
Taiwan has reported 771 coronavirus cases, including four deaths, since the beginning of the pandemic.