Taiwan reported 18,218 new cases of COVID-19 and 61 deaths from the disease on Friday, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

The total number of cases represented a 16.4-percent decline from the same day a week earlier, the CECC said.

For the seven days ending Jan. 20 (Jan. 14-20), case numbers were down 15.9 percent at 134,947 and deaths were down 8.7 percent to 283 compared to the previous seven-day period (Jan. 7-13).

The deceased reported Friday ranged in age from under five to their 90s. All but three had underlying health issues, while 41 of them were not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (three doses), the CECC said.

A special case was a man in his 30s, who had chronic spine problems and was completely unvaccinated against the disease, it said.

He tested positive for COVID-19 on Jan. 9 and sought medical treatment at the hospital on Jan. 15, when he was diagnosed with pneumonia and respiratory distress, according to the CECC.

He died on Jan. 16 of COVID-19 combined with sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome, it said.

Also on Friday, the CECC reported 93 new cases classified as moderate and 51 as severe.

Regional breakdown

Regionally, New Taipei reported the highest number of new cases with 3,712, followed by Kaohsiung with 2,179 new cases and Taoyuan with 2,121.

Taipei reported 1,976 new cases, Taichung 1,893, Tainan 1,529, Changhua 734, Hsinchu County 505, Hsinchu City 499, Miaoli 414, Pingtung 356, Keelung 335, Yunlin 311 and Yilan 293.

Nantou had 252 new cases, Hualien 205, Chiayi County 193, Chiayi City 141, Taitung 100, Kinmen 65, Penghu 40 and the Matsu Islands 16, the CECC said.

To date, Taiwan has recorded 9,302,697 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in early 2020, including 46,534 classified as imported.

With the 61 deaths reported on Friday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 fatalities in the country rose to 16,038.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel