Number of COVID-19 patients in Taiwan rises to 45

An individual infected with the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was confirmed in Taiwan Friday, raising the total number to 45, according to the island's epidemic monitoring agency.

The new patient, a woman in her 50s, had stayed in the same section of a hospital ward with Taiwan's 34th COVID-19 patient, the agency said in a press release.

Having not left Taiwan recently, the patient was hospitalized for another disease on Feb. 14 and released on Feb. 20, the statement said.

This cluster of infections in the hospital has involved another six people, including a cleaner, three nurses, the 34th patient's daughter and a woman who took care of her ill relative in the same section of the ward.

A total of 417 people have been identified as contacts while 330 have been cleared to date, the agency said.