Update: 05/14 03:10 p.m.

The Central Epidemic Command Center has confirmed that a junior high school student in Banqiao District had tested positive for COVID-19 after he was reportedly displaying symptoms related to the disease. It said the source of infection for the case (No. 1,291) is still being investigated.

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A junior high school student in New Taipei's Banqiao District is displaying suspected symptoms of COVID-19, and his classmates and instructors have been asked to stay home as a precaution.

The parents of the student, who had a cough and fever Wednesday evening (May 12), told the school the hospital where their son is receiving treatment "highly suspects" his symptoms are related to COVID-19. They said he had been tested for the disease and is waiting for the result.

Although the school has yet to receive a notification from the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), 54 students and 28 instructors who were close contacts of the patient have been asked to stay home until further notice. The school said the student in question is graduating this summer and that he had been planning to take his high school entrance exam on Saturday (May 15).

Meanwhile, the New Taipei City Health Department said it will initiate epidemic prevention protocols if the student is confirmed with COVID-19. The CECC will provide more information about the case at its daily press conference Friday afternoon (May 14), it said.