Taiwan on Friday reported 21,869 new cases of COVID-19, all but 292 of which were domestic infections, and 54 deaths from the disease, according to the Central Epidemic Command center (CECC).
The deceased ranged in age from their 40s to their 90s. All but four suffered from chronic illnesses or other severe diseases, and 22 were unvaccinated, the CECC said.
Two of the newly reported deaths were people in their 40s, one of whom had a nervous system disorder while the other had cardiovascular diseases and other illnesses, the CECC said.
Also on Friday, the CECC reported 47 new severe COVID-19 cases and 51 moderate infections.
Severe cases involving children
Among the severe cases were five children aged under 10 years old who have been diagnosed with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), the CECC said, noting that one of them has already been discharged from hospital.
One of the five kids has an allergic rhinitis while other four did not show any history of chronic illnesses, the CECC said.
Of the 4,639,491 domestic cases reported in Taiwan this year, 9,618 have been classified as severe infections and 11,869 as moderate, accounting for 0.21 percent and 0.25 percent of the total, respectively, according to CECC data as of Aug. 4.
In all other cases, the infected persons were either asymptomatic or had mild symptoms, the CECC said.
Regional breakdown
Regionally, New Taipei recorded the highest number of new domestic cases on Friday, with 4,007, followed by Taichung with 2,623, and Taipei with 2,351.
Taoyuan reported 2,280 cases, Kaohsiung 2,034, Tainan 1,683, Changhua 990, Miaoli 615, Hsinchu County 605, Pingtung 584, Yunlin 545, Hsinchu City 509, Yilan 484, and Hualien 416.
Nantou recorded 377 new cases, Chiayi County 361, Keelung 330, Chiayi City 267, Taitung 227, Kinmen 144, Penghu 135, and the Matsu Islands 10, the CECC said.
To date, Taiwan has recorded 4,696,969 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in early 2020, including 4,675,641 domestic infections.
With the 54 deaths reported Friday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 fatalities in the country rose to 9,136.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel