Taiwan reported 22 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, almost all of the sailors who were on a navy visit to the small Pacific islands state of Palau, which said there was “little chance” it was the source of the infection.

Taiwan’s government on Sunday said 700 navy personnel were being quarantined and tested and there were 24 positive cases altogether. Of those, three cadets had been to Palau, one of only 15 countries to maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and one of the last states in the world yet to report a coronavirus outbreak.

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Taiwan Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said cases were discovered on one of the three ships that visited Palau from March 12-15 but further investigations were needed before they could determine where exactly they were infected.

Taiwan has to date been relatively successful at controlling the novel coronavirus through a focus on early prevention and detection.

Palau closed its borders as a pre-emptive measure a month ago as cases rose sharply among its neighbours.

vanguard