A man wearing a face mask walks past empty shelves at the Carrefour store in Xindian district, New Taipei City on March 20, 2020. (SAM YEH / AFP)

TAIPEI -  The total number of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in Taiwan has increased by 19 to 235, the island's epidemic monitoring agency said Wednesday.

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 All of the new patients, seven men and 12 women, were believed to have contracted the virus during their trips overseas, including trips to Britain, the United States, Egypt, France, Turkey and Thailand, the agency said in a press release.

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The agency also suggested that public events that are attended by at least 100 people indoors or at least 500 outdoors should be suspended from Wednesday to avoid contagion.