Two children — 8 months and 15 years old — were among the 151 COVID-19 deaths reported in Taiwan on Monday, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
The 8-month-old had recently had surgery for congenital urinary tract abnormalities, and on May 31 she developed a fever that her parents thought may have been caused by an infection of her stoma — a surgical drainage opening in her abdomen, the CECC said.
The baby was admitted to hospital later that day, and she tested positive for COVID-19, said Lo Yi-chun (???), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division.
On June 1, she had a second surgery, after which her heartbeat, blood pressure, and oxygen levels began to fall, he said. The child passed away on June 2, and her death was attributed to bacterial and COVID-19 infection, resulting in septic shock, Lo said.
The 15-year-old boy, meanwhile, had no known chronic health issues and had received one COVID-19 vaccine. He developed a fever on May 20 and tested positive for COVID-19 two days later. He returned to school on May 30, after he had apparently recovered, but he fell unconscious that same day, Lo said.
When the teenager was taken to hospital, he had no vital signs, and his cause of death was listed as cardiac shock, inflammation of the heart muscle, and an abnormal buildup of fluid in the lungs, known medically as acute pulmonary edema, Lo said.
To date, 36 children in Taiwan under the age of 13 years have developed severe COVID-19 infections, and 16 of them have died, according to the CECC.
Two teenagers were also among the total number of severe COVID-19 cases in the country, including the one whose death was reported Monday, according to CECC data.
To date, Taiwan has recorded 3,090 deaths linked to COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.
Of the 2,377,053 domestic cases recorded in Taiwan this year, 2,618 have been classified as severe infections and 4,910 as moderate, accounting for 0.11 percent and 0.21 percent of the total, respectively, according to CECC data as of June 5.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel