Taiwan on Tuesday reported 24,498 new COVID-19 infections and seven deaths from the disease, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

The new cases represented a 43-percent increase from the same day a week earlier, CECC data showed.

On a week-by-week basis, the 125,279 cases recorded from Dec. 20 to 26 were up 16.6 percent from the number reported from Dec. 13 to 19, the data showed.

Meanwhile, the 200 COVID-19 deaths from Dec. 20 to 26 were a 1.48-percent drop from the total recorded in the previous seven-day period, according to the CECC.

The deceased reported on Tuesday ranged in age from their 50s to their 90s. All had underlying health conditions, while five of them were unvaccinated against COVID-19, the CECC said.

Also on Tuesday, the CECC reported 17 new cases classified as moderate and seven as severe.

Regional breakdown

Regionally, New Taipei recorded the highest number of new cases, with 4,717, followed by Taichung with 3,123 and Taipei with 2,735.

Taoyuan reported 2,637 new cases, Kaohsiung 2,433, Tainan 2,141, Changhua 1,270, Hsinchu County 869, Hsinchu City 704, Miaoli 675, Yunlin 488 and Pingtung 463.

Chiayi County had 426 cases, Nantou 390, Yilan 345, Keelung 275, Chiayi City 235, Hualien 186, Kinmen 138, Taitung 118, Penghu 56 and the Matsu Islands three, the CECC said.

To date, Taiwan has recorded 8,738,114 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in early 2020, including 39,570 classified as imported.

With the seven deaths reported on Tuesday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 fatalities in the country rose to 15,120.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel