TAIPEI: Taiwan will put 700 navy sailors into quarantine after three cases of the new coronavirus were confirmed among sailors who had been on a goodwill mission to the Pacific island state of Palau, the government said on Saturday.

Three Taiwan navy vessels visited Palau — one of only 15 countries to maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan — in the middle of March, before returning to Taiwan a month later, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung told reporters.

The three confirmed cases had all shared quarters on the same ship, but all 700 sailors on all three ships were being re-called and would be put into quarantine, he said.

Taiwan’s presidential office said that President Tsai Ing-wen had been at the ceremony to welcome back the ships but had only waved to the sailors from the shore and had not been exposed to the risk of infection.

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2020