Taiwan reports 25,310 new COVID-19 cases, 114 deaths

ROC Central News Agency

07/15/2022 03:51 PM

Taipei, July 15 (CNA) Taiwan reported 25,310 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, all but 87 of which were domestic infections, and 114 deaths from the disease, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

The individuals whose deaths were reported on Friday ranged in age from their 40s to over 90. Among them, 48 were not vaccinated with any doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 108 had chronic illnesses or other severe diseases, the CECC said.

Among the six fatalities who had no chronic illnesses or severe diseases, one had gotten three vaccine doses, two had gotten two doses, one had gotten one dose, and two had not had any doses, according to the CECC.

Four MIS-C cases

Also on Friday, the CECC said that 104 previously reported COVID-19 cases had become severe, while 99 other individuals had developed moderate symptoms.

Among them were four severe cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), which developed after the patients had earlier contracted COVID-19, said Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC's medical response division, at daily press briefing.

The youngest was a 7-month-old baby who did not have any prior medical conditions and was previously confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 on June 9, Lo said.

She was admitted to a hospital on June 24 after she developed a fever, throat inflammation and nausea starting from June 20, Lo said, adding that she was diagnosed with pneumonia and other conditions related to MIS-C.

During her treatment in the hospital, a computerized tomography scan showed that the baby had developed hydrocephalus and on July 9, she was transferred to another hospital for surgery, Lo said.

The baby is now in an intensive care unit, Lo said.

Another case is of a 3-year-old girl, who was discharged from the hospital on July 3, Lo said.

The girl tested positive for COVID-19 on May 31 and did not have any prior medical conditions, Lo said, adding that she showed symptoms related to MIS-C starting June 21 and was taken to a hospital emergency room on June 23.

She was found to have coronary artery ectasia, pericardial effusion, and other conditions that led to her being treated in an intensive care unit for five days, Lo said.

The remaining two cases are an 8-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy who have both been transferred out of an intensive care unit but remain in the hospital, Lo said.

The girl was confirmed positive for COVID-19 on June 8 and started having symptoms related to MIS-C on July 1, Lo said.

She was admitted to a hospital after having been to an emergency room on July 3, Lo said.

The boy, who had previously tested positive for COVID-19 on May 27, was taken to a hospital emergency room on July 11 for breathing difficulties, Lo said, adding that he was admitted to hospital after he was suspected of having MIS-C.

After treatment, the boy was transferred out of intensive care on July 14, Lo said.

Of the 4,159,214 domestic cases reported in Taiwan this year, 8,331 have been classified as severe infections, and 10,559 as moderate, accounting for 0.20 percent and 0.25 percent of the total, respectively, according to CECC data as of July 14.

In all other cases, the infected individuals were either asymptomatic or had mild symptoms, the CECC said.

Regional breakdown

New Taipei recorded the highest number of domestic cases Friday with 4,224, followed by Taichung with 3,293, and Taoyuan with 2,711. Kaohsiung reported 2,629 cases, Taipei 2,532, Tainan 1,842, Changhua County 1,305, Pingtung County 861, Yunlin County 742, Miaoli County 692, Hsinchu County 674, Yilan County 566, and Hsinchu City 535.

Chiayi County recorded 473 cases, Nantou County 435, Hualien County 409, Keelung 351, Taitung County 327, Chiayi City 266, Penghu County 168, Kinmen County 165, and Matsu Islands 23.

To date, Taiwan has recorded 4,215,200 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in early 2020, including 4,199,002 domestic infections.

With the 114 deaths reported Friday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 fatalities in the country rose to 8,031.

(By William Yen)

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