Taiwan reported more than 30,000 new cases of COVID-19 for a fifth consecutive day Saturday and 42 deaths from the disease, which brought the total since the pandemic began to 10,028, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
The deceased ranged in age from their 40s to their 90s. All but three suffered from chronic illnesses or other severe diseases, and 35 had not received a booster shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, the CECC said.
Of the 10,028 deaths to date, the vast majority of deaths have occurred this year as Omicron spread in Taiwan.
The CECC reported 32,812 new COVID-19 cases Saturday, with 43 cases newly classified as severe and 97 newly classified as moderate.
Among the severe cases was a young boy aged below 5, who was suspected of having encephalitis, the CECC said, adding that the boy’s condition has since improved and he has been transferred out of an intensive care unit.
Of the 5,332,832 domestically transmitted cases recorded in Taiwan this year, 10,667 have been classified as severe infections and 13,652 as moderate, accounting for 0.20 percent and 0.26 percent of the total, respectively, according to CECC data as of Sept. 3.
Regionally, New Taipei reported the highest number of new cases Saturday, with 6,902, followed by Taipei with 4,104 and Taichung with 3,823.
Taoyuan had 3,667 new cases, Kaohsiung 2,485, Tainan 2,045, Changhua 1,305, Hsinchu County 1,115, Hsinchu City 966, Miaoli 816, Pingtung 805, Yunlin 777 and Yilan 660.
Hualien had 646 cases, Keelung 577, Chiayi County 471, Nantou 459, Chiayi City 327, Taitung 225, Penghu 179, Kinmen 155, and the Matsu Islands 20, the CECC said.
To date, Taiwan has recorded 5,408,641 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in early 2020, including 5,379,911 domestic cases.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel