CORONAVIRUS/Taiwan sees daily COVID-19 cases drop to 60, lowest in over one month

Taipei, June 28 (CNA) Taiwan on Monday reported 60 new cases of COVID-19, the lowest in more than one month, and three deaths from the disease, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

The daily number was the lowest since May 19, when the CECC first issued a nationwide Level 3 COVID-19 alert, and the overall coronavirus numbers are trending down, said Health and Welfare Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC.

Meanwhile, the number of infections in a Pingtung County cluster that originated from a woman and her grandson who recently returned to Taiwan from Peru remained at 12, according to Chen.

Eight people in the cluster have been confirmed as being infected with the Delta variant, which is believed to be the most transmissible variant yet, according to the CECC.

Although the overall trend is on the decline, larger than expected crowds at public venues over the weekend has raised concerns over an infection control breach, Chen said.

Among the 60 local cases recorded Monday, 26 were males and 34 were females, aged from under 10 to over 90, with the onset of symptoms occurring from June 19 to June 27, according to Chen.

In the two cities considered to be Taiwan's COVID-19 hotspots, New Taipei had the most new domestic cases reported Monday, at 33, followed by Taipei with 22.

Outside of the two cities, Taoyuan reported two new cases, and Keelung, Nantou and Changhua reported one case each.

Of the 60 new cases, the sources of 32 cases have been identified, while the sources of 25 are being investigated, and three have been determined as having unclear infection sources, CECC data showed.

The three deaths were two men and one woman in their 70s to 90s, who passed away June 25 and June 26, the CECC said.

The new cases brought the total in the country to 14,694, of which over 13,200 are domestic infections reported since May 15, when the country first recorded more than 100 cases in a single day for the first time since the beginning of the outbreak in early 2020.

To date, 635 people in Taiwan have died from COVID-19, including 623 since May 15.

Recent cases

June 27: Taiwan reports 89 COVID-19 cases; more Delta variant cases confirmed

June 26: Taiwan reports 80 new COVID-19 cases, 13 deaths

June 25: Taiwan reports 76 new COVID-19 cases, 34 among people in quarantine

June 24: Taiwan reports 130 new COVID-19 cases, 6 deaths

June 23: Taiwan reports 104 new COVID-19 cases, 24 deaths