Taiwan reported 16,080 new COVID-19 infections and 37 deaths from the disease on Thursday, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
The new cases represented a 5-percent increase from the same day a week earlier, CECC data showed.
The deceased included one woman in her 20s while the others ranged in age from their 50s to their 90s.
All but two had underlying health conditions, and 17 of them were unvaccinated against COVID-19, the CECC said.
Also on Thursday, the CECC reported 91 new cases classified as moderate and 37 as severe.
Two young severe cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) were reported by the CECC, too.
One of the two MIS-C cases was an unvaccinated 5-year-old boy without underlying health conditions, who has been discharged from hospital after responding positively to treatment, the CECC said.
The other was an unvaccinated 6-year-old girl who has no underlying health issues, the CECC said, adding that she is now in stable condition while not being discharged from hospital yet.
Regional breakdown
Regionally, New Taipei recorded the highest number of new cases with 2,935, followed by Taichung with 2,133 and Kaohsiung with 1,918.
Taoyuan reported 1,789 new cases, Taipei 1,586, Tainan 1,264, Changhua 755, Hsinchu County 520, Hsinchu City 501, Miaoli 439, Pingtung 381, and Yunlin 361.
Chiayi County had 280 cases, Nantou 235, Yilan 213, Keelung 184, Chiayi City 171, Hualien 155, Taitung 85, Kinmen 66, and Penghu 41, while the Matsu Islands had zero cases, the CECC said.
To date, Taiwan has recorded 8,531,911 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in early 2020, including 38,525 classified as imported.
With the 37 deaths reported on Thursday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 fatalities in the country rose to 14,796.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel