CORONAVIRUS/Taiwan reports 75 new COVID-19 cases, 20 deaths

06/21/2021 05:52 PM

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Taipei, June 21 (CNA) Taiwan on Monday reported 75 new cases of COVID-19 and 20 COVID-related deaths, the first time the daily number of cases has dipped below 100 since May 19 when the country issued a nationwide Level 3 COVID-19 alert, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

Although the 75 new COVID-19 cases is the lowest daily case count since Taiwan introduced Level 3 measures, the daily numbers of deaths due to the COVID-19 coronavirus has averaged around 20 over the past few days, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said at a CECC press briefing.

The daily death count is expected to fall in the next 1-2 weeks following the recent drop in new COVID-19 cases in the country, Chen added.

However, Chen said that despite the recent decline in new domestic cases, people should not let their guard down to avoid another COVID-19 surge.

Taiwan reported 200-plus daily cases from June 7-12, and totals averaging in the 400s and 500s from mid-May through early June, according to CECC data.

All of the new cases reported Monday were domestic infections, with New Taipei reporting the most, with 38 cases, followed by Taipei with 22, Taoyuan with five and Miaoli County with three. Keelung and Taichung each reported two cases, while Kaohsiung, Yunlin and Changhua each reported one。

Of the 75 domestic cases, 35 are men and 40 are women, aged from below five to their 80s, with the onset of symptoms occurring from June 8 to June 20, according to the CECC.

The new cases brought the total number in Taiwan to 14,080, of which 12,675 are domestic infections reported since May 15, when the country first recorded over 100 cases in a single day.

The 20 deaths were 14 men and six women, in their 50s to 90s, who passed away from June 2 to June 20, the CECC said.

To date, 569 people in Taiwan have died from COVID-19, including 557 since May 15.

(By Chen Chieh-ling, Chiang Hui-chun and Evelyn Kao)

Enditem/AW