Taipei, Dec 21 (IANS): Taiwan has reported a coronavirus cluster detected among crew members of a a cargo flight, according to health authorities.

Of the three people who tested positive in Taiwan on Sunday, two were a part of the cluster, Xinhua news agency quoted the local epidemic monitoring agency as saying.

A pilot from New Zealand, is believed to be the first patient of the cluster infection, according to the agency.

After returning from the US on December 4, he showed symptoms of cough on a flight back to America on December 12 and did not wear a face mask in the cockpit, it said.

A female Taiwanese pilot who was with him on the December 12 flight to the US was believed to have been infected by him, and tested positive for the virus on December 18.

A Japanese member of the same flight crew also believed to be infected by the New Zealand national tested positive on Sunday.

The agency has identified 89 people who came in contact with the infected and is testing them.

The third case reported on Sunday was an Indonesian national who had been to Taiwan for work on December 3 and tested positive after ending his quarantine.

The total number of coronavirus cases in Taiwan has increased to 766, with seven deaths, 627 recoveries and 132 hospitalisations, according to the agency.