CORONAVIRUS/Taiwan reports 32,681 new COVID-19 cases, 88 deaths

Taipei, July 3 (CNA) Taiwan reported 32,681 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, all but 114 of which were domestic infections, and 88 deaths from the disease, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

The 88 patients whose deaths were reported Sunday ranged in age from their 20s to 90s. Eighty-five of them had chronic illnesses or other severe diseases, and among the other three, one was unvaccinated and two had received three COVID-19 vaccine shots, the CECC said.

In total, 42 of the deceased patients were unvaccinated, according to the CECC.

The CECC also said that 63 previously reported COVID-19 cases had become severe, while 135 other individuals had developed moderate symptoms.

Among the severe cases are two children who have been diagnosed with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), neither of whom had chronic illnesses, the CECC said.

One of them is a 5-year-old boy who tested positive for COVID-19 on May 4, and almost a month later, on June 2, developed a fever, cough and loss of appetite and began vomiting, the CECC said.

He was taken to hospital on June 8, after his lymph nodes became swollen and a rash broke out on his legs, the CECC said. The child was diagnosed with MIS-C and admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU), but he has since recovered and has been discharged from hospital, according to the CECC.

The other MIS-C case is a 7-year-old girl who tested positive for COVID-19 on June 5, the CECC said. Later in the month, she lost her appetite for several days, and she had a stomach ache, then she developed a fever and began vomiting, the CECC said.

The girl was was admitted to hospital on June 28 and is still being treated there, the CECC said, adding that her fever has subsided.

To date, 80 children under the age of 13 have developed severe illnesses after contracting COVID-19, and 20 of them have died, according to the CECC.

Of the 3,808,400 domestic cases reported in Taiwan this year, 7,109 have been classified as severe infections and 9,426 as moderate, accounting for 0.19 percent and 0.25 percent of the total, respectively, according to CECC data as of July 2.

In all other cases, the infected individuals were either asymptomatic or had mild symptoms, the CECC said.

On Sunday, New Taipei recorded the highest number of domestic cases, with 4,666, followed by Taichung with 4,448, and Kaohsiung with 3,886.

Taoyuan recorded 3,212 cases, Tainan 2,894, Taipei 2,722, Changhua County 2,004, Pingtung County 1,264, Yunlin County 867, Hsinchu County 859, Miaoli County 789, Hsinchu City 764, Yilan County 763, Nantou County 680, and Chiayi County 674.

Hualien County reported 477 cases, Keelung 463, Chiayi City 411, Taitung County 347, Penghu County 193, Kinmen County 156, and the Matsu Islands 28.

To date, Taiwan has recorded 3,870,528 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in early 2020, including 3,855,561 domestic infections.

With the 88 deaths reported Sunday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 fatalities in the country rose to 6,956.

Recent cases

July 2: Taiwan reports 34,827 new COVID-19 cases, 96 deaths

July 1: Taiwan reports 35,800 new COVID-19 cases, 121 deaths

June 30: Taiwan reports 38,942 new COVID-19 cases, 118 deaths

June 29: Taiwan reports 42,204 new COVID-19 cases, 85 deaths

June 28: Taiwan reports 44,428 new COVID-19 cases, 103 deaths