Taiwan on Thursday reported 44,880 new COVID-19 infections, including 215 imported cases, and 53 deaths from the disease, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
The deceased ranged in age from their teens to their 90s, and all but six of them had underlying health issues, the CECC said.
The youngest was an 18-year-old, who was unvaccinated and was on a respirator for a long time because of a congenital heart disease, said Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞), an official of the CECC and the Centers for Disease Control.
The teenager first tested positive for COVID-19 with a rapid test on Sept. 13, after he developed a cough, and he was hospitalized the same day, Lo said.
He later fell into a coma and died on Sept. 26, as a result of lower gastrointestinal bleeding and other complications, Lo said, adding that it was the sixth COVID-19 teenage death in Taiwan.
Among the deaths reported Thursday, 26 of the deceased were not vaccinated against COVID-19, while two had received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, three had gotten two shots, 18 had received three doses, and four had gotten four shots, the CECC said.
The 53 newly recorded deaths brought the total in Taiwan to 11,003 since the pandemic began.
Severe, moderate cases
Also on Thursday, the CECC reported 223 cases that were newly classified as moderate, and 50 categorized as severe, including one patient with inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis), and four with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).
Three of the MISC-S patients — under the age of 10 — were successfully treated and have been discharged from hospital, while the fourth one is still hospitalized, Lo said, adding that she is a 14-year-old who contracted the disease on Sept. 10.
On Monday, she developed a fever, stomachache, diarrhea and tightness in the chest, and was taken to hospital, where she was found to have low blood pressure and high levels of cardiac enzymes, Lo said.
She was diagnosed with MIS-C, which causes inflammation of the heart, and was placed in intensive care, where she was treated with steroids and immunoglobulin, Lo told CNA.
The patient has since improved and was transferred to a general ward Wednesday, he said, adding that she had no known underlying health issues and had received three shots of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Meanwhile, the myocarditis patient is a 12-year-old boy, who was rushed to a hospital emergency room on Sept. 22 with symptoms that included difficulty breathing, vomiting and general weakness, and he tested positive for COVID-19, Lo said.
He was diagnosed with acute myocarditis, pneumonia and low oxygen levels and was put on a respirator in intensive care, where he also received immunoglobulin and antibiotics treatment, Lo said.
As of Tuesday, the boy’s COVID-19 test was still positive, and was being treated with Remdesivir, but he remained in serious condition, Lo said, adding that the patient had underlying parathyroid gland issues and had received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Regional breakdown
On Thursday, New Taipei reported the highest number of new COVID-19 cases, with 9,170, followed by Taichung, which had 5,879, Taipei 4,961, Taoyuan 4,832, Kaohsiung 4,060, and Tainan 2,931, the CECC said in a statement.
Changhua County recorded 2,316 new cases, Hsinchu County 1,179, Pingtung County 1,130, Hsinchu City 1,108, Miaoli County 1,073, Yunlin County 1,006, Yilan County 977, Nantou County 849, and Keelung 823.
Chiayi County had 702 cases, Hualien County 598, Chiayi City 513, Taitung County 296, Kinmen County 136, Penghu County 115, and the Matsu Islands 11, the CECC said.
To date, Taiwan has recorded 6,417,941 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in early 2020, including 34,666 imported infections.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel