CORONAVIRUS/Taiwan passes 10,000 total COVID-19 cases (update)

06/04/2021 04:35 PM

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Taipei, June 4 (CNA) Taiwan on Friday reported 474 new cases of COVID-19 and 21 deaths, pushing the total number of cases in the country to over 10,000 since the outbreak began early in 2020, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

The new cases consisted of 472 domestic infections, of which 339 were newly confirmed cases and 133 were from a backlog of test results confirmed in the past few days, as well as two imported cases.

While the outbreak is now at a "relative high point," it has also remained quite stable, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said, adding that there are currently no plans to raise or lower the COVID-19 alert level.

The 472 domestic cases reported Friday included 227 in New Taipei and 152 in Taipei. Miaoli County reported 51 cases, which mainly stemmed from a cluster infection in an electronics factory there, according to Chen.

To contain the cluster, the CECC set up a mobile command center in the area on Friday, and is planning to test over 7,000 people who were potentially exposed, he added.

Meanwhile, Taoyuan reported 11 cases and Taichung and Keelung each reported seven. Changhua had six cases, while Hsinchu City and Nantou each had two.

One case each was reported in Hualien, Yilan, Hsinchu County, Pingtung, Kaohsiung, Chiayi and Yunlin, CECC data showed.

Of the 93 cases outside of Taipei and New Taipei, 77 had a known source of infection, while 14 had "unclear links" to other cases and two were under investigation.

The two imported cases of COVID-19 reported Friday involved Indonesian and Vietnamese nationals who came to Taiwan for work, according to the CECC.

The 21 fatalities were 14 men and seven women, aged in their 30s to their 90s, who died between May 27 and June 2.

Taiwan has confirmed a total of 10,446 COVID-19 cases, of which over 9,000 are domestic infections reported since May 15, when the country first recorded more than 100 cases in a single day.

The number of COVID-19 deaths in the country has risen to 187, including 175 since May 15, CECC data shows.

As of Thursday, Taiwan had administered 621,322 vaccine doses, all of the AstraZeneca brand, for a country of 23.57 million people.

(By Matthew Mazzetta)

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