CORONAVIRUS/Taiwan reports 53,707 new COVID-19 cases, 181 deaths

06/18/2022 03:28 PM

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Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Lo Yi-chun is see in this photo taken on Saturday. Photo courtesy of the CECC

Taipei, June 18 (CNA) Taiwan on Saturday reported 53,707 new COVID-19 infections, including 64 that originated overseas, and 181 deaths from the disease, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

The deceased, ranging in age from 20 to 100, included 164 individuals with chronic illnesses or other severe diseases, and 127 who had not received a COVID-19 booster shot, the CECC said.

Among the 160 newly reported severe cases on Saturday were two boys, both under 7 years old with no prior underlying health issues, Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC's medical response division, said at a daily press briefing.

One of the boys, a 6-year-old who had received one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, tested positive on June 11 and was later diagnosed with pneumonia and breathing problems, Lo said.

The child is in intensive care and is being treated with Remdesivir and steroids, according to Lo.

The other boy, a 1-year-old, was unvaccinated and tested positive for COVID-19 on May 30, Lo said.

He developed symptoms such as fever, croup and difficulty breathing but has since recovered, and he was discharged from hospital on June 9, Lo said.

Of the 3,162,445 domestic cases reported in Taiwan this year, 4,797 have been classified as severe infections, and 7,393 as moderate, accounting for 0.16 percent and 0.23 percent of the total, respectively, according to CECC data as of June 17.

In all other cases, the patients were either asymptomatic or had mild infections, the CECC said.

The figures do not include imported cases reclassified as domestic ones, nor retroactively removed cases. As of June 18, Taiwan recorded 3,216,048 domestic cases in 2022, while the total number of imported cases rose to 13,748 from 2,396 on Jan. 1.

Taichung reported the highest number of domestic cases Saturday, with 7,983, followed by Kaohsiung with 7,579, and New Taipei with 6,398.

Tainan reported 5,322 cases, Taoyuan 4,611, Changhua County 4,247, Taipei 3,463, Pingtung County 2,512, Yunlin County 1,535, Miaoli County 1,320, Hsinchu County 1,243, Nantou County 1,220, and Chiayi County 1,094.

Yilan County recorded 963 cases, Hsinchu City 888, Hualien County 809, Chiayi City 752, Keelung 663, Taitung County 609, Penghu County 245, Kinmen County 162, and the Matsu Islands 25.