First Death from Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia in Taiwan: A 60-Year-Old Unlicensed Taxi Driver in Central Taiwan

The Central Epidemic Command Center of the Republic of China held a press conference at 6 PM today (the 16th). Commander Chen Shih-chung announced that the first confirmed death from novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19, commonly known as Wuhan pneumonia) has appeared in central Taiwan.

Today, the 19th and 20th cases were newly added. The first case is a man in his sixties in central Taiwan with a history of hepatitis B and diabetes, no history of overseas travel, and not a known close contact of a confirmed case. However, because his job was driving an unlicensed taxi in Changhua (a silver Toyota Wish), providing chartered service to Taichung Ching Chuan Kang Airport and frequently transporting tourists from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau, he may have contracted the disease there. He developed a cough on January 27, and on February 3 went to the hospital due to shortness of breath, diagnosed with pneumonia.

This case was immediately admitted to a negative-pressure intensive care unit for treatment on the day it tested positive, but the case died on the evening of Saturday, February 15, due to pneumonia combined with sepsis. With the family’s consent, the body will be cremated in accordance with the legal provisions on infectious diseases, and some specimens will be retained for further testing.

The second case is a male family member in his fifties of the first case, confirmed after testing yesterday. It is a community infection case. The case is currently asymptomatic and admitted to a negative-pressure isolation ward.

The command center stated that as of 4 PM today, 53 new reported cases of severe special infectious pneumonia had been added domestically. So far a cumulative total of 1,834 cases have been reported, including 20 confirmed, 1,746 excluded, and the rest under isolation and testing (40 initially tested negative, the rest awaiting testing). Among the 20 confirmed cases, 1 died, 2 were discharged, and the remaining 17 cases are in stable condition and continue to be hospitalized in isolation.

The command center especially reminds the public to diligently wash hands with soap, avoid touching the eyes, nose, and mouth, and observe cough etiquette. When entering the country from abroad, if there are symptoms of discomfort such as fever or cough, one should proactively notify airport and port quarantine personnel and cooperate with various epidemic-prevention measures. If suspected symptoms appear within 14 days after returning home, one can call the toll-free epidemic-prevention hotline 1922 (or 0800-001922), wear a mask as instructed and seek medical attention as soon as possible, and be sure to inform the doctor of travel history, occupation, contact history, and whether there is clustering (TOCC), so as to enable timely diagnosis and reporting.