Taiwan reported 52,405 new COVID-19 infections and 37 deaths from the disease Wednesday, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

Wednesday’s daily new case number was 4.6 percent lower from seven days ago, and it was the third consecutive day the figures declined week on week, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said at a press briefing.

They had previously risen from a week earlier for two weeks in a row.

Fatalities

Aside from a 1-year-old boy, the deceased ranged in age from their 40s to 90s. All but three had underlying health issues, and 14 had not received any COVID-19 vaccine doses, the CECC said in a statement.

The boy began to develop a fever and shortness of breath on Oct. 4, and was taken to a clinic, where he was diagnosed with the flu and sent home with prescribed medication, said CDC Deputy Director-General Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) at the press briefing.

The boy’s condition stabilized after he returned home from the clinic, but he was found unconscious the next morning, Lo said.

He had no pulse and was not breathing when he was rushed to the hospital, where he tested positive for COVID-19, with a cycle threshold (CT) value of 37.5, Lo said.

The cause of the boy’s death was determined to be COVID-19 and respiratory failure. He did not receive any COVID-19 vaccine doses and had no underlying health conditions.

With 37 deaths reported on Wednesday, the number of COVID-19 fatalities in Taiwan reached 11,641 since the pandemic began in early 2020, according to the CECC.

Severe, moderate infections

The CECC also reported 37 cases that were newly classified as severe and 64 as moderate.

One of the newly reported severe cases involves another 1-year-old boy, who first contracted COVID-19 on Sept. 9, and may have developed multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).

The boy was transferred to a medical center on Oct. 5, and his condition has since been stable, but he is still kept in the medical center for observation.

To date, 157 of the 243 COVID-19 severe cases involving children aged 12 and younger have been diagnosed with MIS-C, a rare complication of COVID-19, CECC data showed,

Regional breakdown

Regionally, New Taipei reported the highest number of new infections on Wednesday with 9,706, while Taichung had 6,753, Kaohsiung 5,842, Taichung 5,269, Taoyuan 5,028, and Tainan 4,149, according to the CECC.

Changhua County had 2,912 cases, Pingtung County 1,776, Yunlin County 1,482, Miaoli County 1,345 and Hsinchu County 1,343.

Yilan County had 991 cases, Chiayi County 969, Hsinchu City 932, Nantou County 817, Keelung City 748, Hualien County 730, Chiayi City 613, Taitung County 46, Kinmen County 246, Penghu County 188 and the Matsu Islands 36, the CECC said in a statement.

To date, Taiwan has recorded 6,997,376 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in early 2020, including 35,567 cases classified as imported.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel