Novel coronavirus cases in Taiwan rise to 13, one recovers

TAIPEI -- Taiwan has confirmed two new infections by the novel coronavirus, raising its total confirmed cases to 13, the island's epidemic monitoring agency said Thursday.

At the same time, one patient has fully recovered and been released from the hospital, the agency said at a press conference.

The two new confirmed cases were both Taiwan residents -- a male who went to the mainland city of Wuhan, the center of the epidemic, on Jan 17 and returned to Taiwan on Feb 2, and a female who returned from Wuhan to Taiwan on Jan 21, according to the agency.

It added that the man showed symptoms on Feb 3, the woman on Feb 1, and both of them now have pneumonia and are staying in isolation wards.

The agency also confirmed that one Taiwan resident, who had been aboard a cruise ship now quarantined off the coast in Japan, was infected by the virus.

The island decided to ban international cruise ships from docking at its harbors starting Thursday, the agency said.