TAIPEI, March 17 (Xinhua) -- The total number of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in Taiwan has increased by 10 to 77, according to the island's epidemic monitoring agency Tuesday.
The daily increase is the biggest since the island's first confirmed case on Jan. 21.
All the new patients had traveled outside Taiwan recently and were believed to have contracted the virus during their trips, the agency said in a press release.
Their travel destinations included Turkey, Egypt, Austria, the Czech Republic, Iceland, Germany, France and the United States, the statement said.
Among them, four patients were part of the same tour group to Turkey, the agency said, adding that nine members of this group have been confirmed to be COVID-19 patients.
Among the island's confirmed COVID-19 cases, 50 were imported. Twenty-two of the confirmed patients have recovered, and one died of the disease. The rest are in stable condition.
The island's authorities will raise travel alerts for another 20 countries in Asia and Eastern Europe as well as three states of the United States from Thursday, the agency said.
Taiwan residents are warned against unnecessary travel to these countries and regions, said the statement, and travelers who board planes from these places after 4 p.m. Tuesday are required to be quarantined in their residences for 14 days upon their arrival in Taiwan.
People who arrived in Taiwan from Europe from March 3 to 14 and developed suspicious symptoms such as respiratory symptoms and pneumonia are required to take a COVID-19 test, the agency added.
