TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan confirmed one more COVID-19 case in a 70-year-old woman repatriated from Japan after an ill-fated voyage on the Diamond Princess, bringing the total COVID-19 cases in Taiwan to 40, according to a statement put out by the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Sunday (March 1).

CECC Commander Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said that the woman continued to stay on the cruise ship after it arrived in Japan on Feb. 4. She had no symptoms of respiratory illness but tested positive for the new coronavirus on Feb. 15, and so was isolated in a hospital in Japan for treatment. Chen said that after she tested negative for the virus twice, she was released from the hospital and took a flight home.

Chen said that the woman wore a face mask on the flight and no passengers sat within two rows of her. When she arrived in Taiwan, she was escorted to a hospital for isolation and screening. After she tested positive three times, she was today confirmed to still have the virus.

All the medical professionals who came into contact with the woman wore protective gear; therefore, none of them have been required to undergo screening. The woman’s husband tested negative in Japan on Feb. 7, and he is currently being quarantined in a Japanese hotel, Chen added.

Since the woman's repatriation to Taiwan, she has been subject to strict isolation procedures. As a result, she has not posed a threat to public health, according to the CECC.

Meanwhile, of the 40 confirmed cases, 12 patients have been released from isolation after having tested negative for the virus three times, the center added.