CORONAVIRUS/Taiwan reports 12,313 new COVID-19 cases, two deaths

04/29/2022 03:47 PM

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Health Minister Chen Shih-chung at Friday's COVID-19 press briefing. Photo courtesy of the CECC

Taipei, April 29 (CNA) Taiwan on Friday reported 12,313 new COVID-19 cases, most of which were domestic infections, and two deaths from the disease, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

The CECC said 339 of the new 12,313 new cases were contracted abroad, while 11,974 were domestically transmitted, a figure that set a new daily high and surpassed 10,000 for the second day.

The two COVID-19 patients who died -- men in their 80s and 50s -- passed away on April 23 and April 24, respectively, the CECC said.

One of them had received three shots of a COVID-19 vaccine, and the other had gotten two doses, the CECC said, adding that the two patients had tested positive on April 18 and April 21, respectively.

The figures do not include imported cases reclassified as domestic ones, nor retroactively removed cases. As of April 29, Taiwan recorded 74,970 domestic cases in 2022, while the total number of imported cases rose to 11,120 from 2,375 on Dec. 31, 2021.

The CECC also reported that another 29 patients had contracted moderate COVID-19 infections, and one had developed a severe infection.

Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC's medical response division, said the new severe case is that of a woman in her 80s, who has a chronic neurological disease.

The woman, who received three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, developed pneumonia and respiratory complications after she contracted COVID-19, Lo said. The patient is being treated with the antiviral drug remdesivir and is receiving oxygen therapy, he said.

The 29 moderate cases, meanwhile, are people ages 10 to 100 years old, including 15 who are not vaccinated against COVID-19, according to CECC data.

One of the 15 unvaccinated patients is a teenager who has a history of heart and neurological diseases, Lo said.

After she became infected with COVID-19, her oxygen levels dropped and she developed pneumonia, Lo said, adding that she is being treated with remdesivir.

1. More doses of the Moderna and Pfizer-BNT vaccine have been administered in Taiwan than the government has officially received because recipients of the Moderna booster shot are given half the standard dose of the first and second jab, while medical workers can sometimes get more than the standard number of shots from a Pfizer-BNT vial. 2. Information about the booster dose and additional dose can be found at https://t.ly/4ZuW

Of the 63,006 domestic cases recorded nationwide from Jan. 1 to April 28, 170 have been classified as moderate infections, and 19 as severe, accounting for 0.27 percent and 0.03 percent of the total, respectively, according to CECC data.

In all of the other cases, the infection has been either mild or asymptomatic, the CECC said.

New cases on Friday

On Friday, New Taipei reported the highest number of new cases, with 4,095, followed by Taipei with 2,702, Taoyuan with 1,987, Keelung with 605, and Taichung 586.

Kaohsiung reported 391 cases, Hualien County 272, Tainan 227, Changhua County 194, Yilan County 180, Hsinchu County 162, Pingtung County 118, Hsinchu City 107, Yunlin County 88, Taitung County 64, Nantou County 60, Miaoli County 55, Chiayi City 36, and Chiayi County 27.

Penghu recorded nine cases, while Kinmen and the Matsu islands reported six and three, respectively.

Meanwhile, of the 339 new imported cases, 260 were travelers who tested positive on arrival in Taiwan, according to the CECC.

To date, Taiwan has confirmed 100,753 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in early 2020, including 89,579 domestically transmitted infections.

With the two deaths reported Friday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 fatalities in the country rose to 862.

(By William Yen)

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