Taiwan on Thursday reported 22,959 new cases of COVID-19, all but 252 of which were domestic infections, and 56 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 five suffered from chronic illnesses or other severe diseases, and 22 were unvaccinated, the CECC said.
Three of the newly reported deaths were people in their 40s, two of whom had a history of cancer, while one had high blood pressure, the CECC said.
Severe, moderate cases
Also on Thursday, the CECC reported 48 new severe COVID-19 cases and 104 moderate infections.
Among the severe cases were a 6-month old boy and a 5-year-old girl, both of whom were diagnosed with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) in July but have since recovered and have been discharged from hospital, the CECC said.
According to CECC statistics, a total of 146 children in Taiwan, aged 12 and under, have contracted severe COVID-19 infections, and 79 of them developed MIS-C, 26 developed encephalitis, and 20 developed pneumonia.
Of the 4,616,805 domestic cases reported in Taiwan this year, 9,557 have been classified as severe infections and 11,881 as moderate, accounting for 0.21 percent and 0.26 percent of the total, respectively, according to CECC data as of Aug. 3.
In all other cases, the infected persons were either asymptomatic or had mild symptoms, the CECC said.
Reginal breakdown
Regionally, New Taipei recorded the highest number of new cases on Thursday, with 4,326, followed by Taichung with 2,807, and Taipei with 2,388.
Taoyuan reported 2,352 cases, Kaohsiung 2,159, Tainan 1,744, Changhua 1,094, Hsinchu County 713, Pingtung 598, Miaoli 585, Yunlin 584, Hsinchu City 570, Yilan 427, and Hualien 420.
Nantou recorded 409 new cases, Chiayi County 387, Keelung 345, Chiayi City 265, Taitung 264, Kinmen 143, Penghu 119, and the Matsu Islands 8, the CECC said.
To date, Taiwan has recorded 4,675,128 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in early 2020, including 4,654,094 domestic infections.
With the 56 deaths reported Thursday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 fatalities in the country rose to 9,082.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel