Taiwan on Monday reported 16,911 new cases of COVID-19 and 23 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 11 were unvaccinated against COVID-19, the CECC said.
The youngest of the deaths reported Monday was a 1-year-old girl who developed cold-like symptoms, respiratory difficulties and a fever starting on Aug. 12, CECC official Lo Yi-chun (???) said at a press briefing.
On Aug. 15, she was found by family members in an unresponsive state and rushed to the hospital, where doctors were unable to revive her, Lo said, adding that she posthumously tested positive for COVID-19, which was determined to be one of the causes of death, along with acute respiratory failure.
MIS-C cases
Also on Monday, the CECC reported 24 COVID-19 cases newly classified as severe and 33 as moderate.
Among the severe cases were three children aged 1, 8, and 9 who were diagnosed with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), the CECC said.
The conditions of two of the children have improved, with one discharged and one still in hospital, while the 9-year-old, a boy, is being treated in intensive care, the CECC said.
To date, 184 children aged 12 and under have developed severe illnesses from COVID-19, including 112 cases of MIS-C, and 28 have died, according to the CECC.
Of the 5,003,549 domestically transmitted cases recorded in Taiwan this year, 10,228 have been classified as severe infections and 12,791 as moderate, accounting for 0.20 percent and 0.26 percent of the total, respectively, according to CECC data as of Aug. 21.
Regional breakdown
Regionally, New Taipei reported the highest number of new cases on Monday, with 3,470, followed by Taoyuan with 2,087 and Taipei with 1,984.
Taichung had 1,832 new cases, Kaohsiung 1,300, Tainan 1,082, Changhua 687, Hsinchu County 529, Miaoli 505, Hsinchu City 467, Pingtung 424 and Yunlin 355.
Yilan reported 318 cases, Keelung 292, Nantou 276, Hualien 293, Chiayi County 272, Chiayi City 177, Taitung 168, Penghu 86, Kinmen 83 and the Matsu Islands two, the CECC said.
To date, Taiwan has recorded 5,060,178 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in early 2020, including 5,034,813 domestic infections.
With the 23 deaths reported Monday, the number of COVID-19 fatalities in the country rose to 9,657.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel