Taiwan on Thursday reported 22,909 new cases of COVID-19, all but 259 of which were domestic infections, as well as 44 deaths from the disease, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
The deceased ranged in age from under 5 to their 90s. All but three suffered from chronic illnesses or other severe diseases, and 27 were unvaccinated against COVID-19, the CECC said.
One of the newly reported deaths was a 3-year-old boy, who suffered from a congenital nervous system disease, Lo Yi-chun (???), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division, said at a press conference.
The boy tested positive on July 31 and was given medication, but he was taken to the emergency room on Aug. 5 with a persistent fever and respiratory difficulties, Lo said.
At the hospital, tests showed that the boy was suffering from swelling of the brain, abnormalities in several major organs and metabolic acidosis, and despite efforts to treat him, he passed away on Aug. 6, according to Lo.
Severe, moderate cases
Also on Thursday, the CECC reported 36 new severe COVID-19 cases and 74 moderate infections.
Among the severe cases were two children aged 4 and 10, who were diagnosed with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) earlier this month but are now recovering in hospital, Lo said.
To date, 159 children aged 12 and under have developed severe illnesses from COVID-19, including 90 cases of MIS-C, 27 cases of encephalitis, and 21 cases of pneumonia, and 27 have died, according to the CECC.
Of the 4,764,702 domestic cases reported in Taiwan this year, 9,842 have been classified as severe infections and 12,187 as moderate, accounting for 0.21 percent and 0.25 percent of the total, respectively, according to CECC data as of Aug. 10.
Regional breakdown
Regionally, New Taipei recorded the highest number of new cases on Thursday, with 4,377, followed by Taichung with 2,808 and Taoyuan with 2,604.
Taipei had 2,579 new cases, Kaohsiung 1,996, Tainan 1,594, Changhua 994, Miaoli 690, Hsinchu County 678, Pingtung 598, Yunlin 572, Hsinchu City 530, Yilan 464, and Nantou 394.
Hualien reported 380 cases, Chiayi County 358, Keelung 342, Chiayi City 245, Taitung 184, Kinmen 171, Penghu 129, and the Matsu Islands 13, the CECC said.
To date, Taiwan has recorded 4,824,550 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in early 2020, including 4,801,922 domestic infections.
With the 44 deaths reported Thursday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 fatalities in the country rose to 9,342.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel