Taiwan president tests negative after case at her residence

This article is more than 12 months old

Apr 08, 2022 04:53 pm

TAIPEI (REUTERS) - Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen tested negative for Covid-19 on Friday (April 8) after a relative she previously had a meal with at her residence was confirmed to be infected, but her public events will all be cancelled until April 14, her office said.

Taiwan has been dealing with a comparatively small rise in domestic cases since the start of this year, 2,719 so far, but still in larger numbers than it has generally previously reported, having kept the pandemic well under control.

Presidential Office spokesperson Xavier Chang told reporters that Ms Tsai had a meal with family members on Monday, one of whom later tested positive for Covid-19.

Ms Tsai has tested negative and is in good health, but her public events will be cancelled until April 14 and she will work from home, he added.

More than 99 per cent of cases since the start of this year have either had mild or no symptoms, with only one death, and the government has said its plans to gradually re-open remain unchanged.

Taiwan has reported 26,263 cases since the pandemic began more than two years ago, and 853 deaths.