Taipei, March 31 (CNA) Taiwan on Tuesday reported 16 new cases of COVID-19 coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 322, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

Of the 16 new cases, 14 were imported while the other two had no recent history of overseas travel, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung, who also heads the CECC, said at a daily briefing in Taipei.

The new patients -- nine males and seven females -- are all Taiwan nationals aged between 20 to 70 years old, Chen said.

According to the CECC, case No. 307 is a 70-year old man who had contact with a friend who recently returned from a trip to Turkey. The latter was previously identified as the 122nd COVID-19 case in the country.

The 307th case, the CECC said, sought medical attention several times between March 25 and March 28 when he started developing chest distress, muscle pain and fever.

The other locally-infected patient, identified as case No. 322, involved a 20-year old college student who developed a cough, nausea and a fever on March 26, and subsequently sought medical help on March 29.

Prior to his symptoms, the student spent most of his time on campus in the dormitory, the CECC said, noting that it has so far identified 13 people who came into contact with him.

The center said it is still trying to establish how the student was infected.

Among the 14 new imported cases reported on Tuesday, the countries visited included the United States, the United Kingdom, Thailand, the Philippines, Iceland, France and Switzerland.

Meanwhile, case No. 315 is a female student who recently returned from the U.K. and is a classmate of cases 257, 258 and 300, the CECC said.