Taipei, Oct. 20 (CNA) Two Philippine nationals and a Taiwanese national who recently traveled from the Philippines to Taiwan have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the number of total cases in Taiwan to 543, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Tuesday.

The two Philippine nationals are a man and a woman in their 20s who came to Taiwan for work and arrived in Taiwan on the same flight on Oct. 5, according to the CECC.

As is required for all incoming travelers from the Philippines, they were sent to a designated quarantine center upon arrival and tested for COVID-19 once they completed their mandatory 14-day quarantine, the CECC said.

Their results came back positive on Tuesday and the CECC has notified 16 people with whom the patients came into contact to follow self-health management protocols.

Both of the arrivals were asymptomatic, the CECC said.

The Taiwanese patient, meanwhile, is a man in his 50s who works in the Philippines and last departed from Taiwan in January, according to the CECC.

He began experiencing a slight fever, muscle ache, a cough and difficulty breathing on Oct. 5 and was diagnosed with pneumonia 10 days later, the CECC said, although he was not hospitalized.

Before the results of a COVID-19 test he took in the Philippines had been released, he left for Taiwan on Oct. 18. He told airport personnel of his symptoms upon arrival and was immediately tested before being sent to a hospital, the CECC said.

The results of his COVID-19 test taken in the Philippines and again in Taiwan were confirmed positive on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.

The CECC has so far identified 27 people who had contact with the patient during his flight, including 15 passengers who sat near him, along with 12 crew members.

The 15 passengers are currently under quarantine, while the flight crew have been instructed to adhere to self-health management protocols, as they were adequately protected during the flight, the CECC said.

To date, Taiwan has recorded 543 cases of COVID-19, with 451 classified as imported. Of the total, 495 have recovered, seven have died and 41 are in hospital care, according to CECC data.

Globally, COVID-19 has infected over 40 million people in 187 countries and regions, with 1,120,286 fatalities, according to CECC statistics as of Tuesday.