CORONAVIRUS/Taiwan reports 42,470 new COVID-19 cases, 59 deaths

09/22/2022 05:45 PM

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Centers for Disease Control Director-General Chou Jih-haw is pictured at Wednesday's COVID-19 press briefing. Photo courtesy of CECC

Taipei, Sept. 22 (CNA) Taiwan reported 42,470 new COVID-19 infections and 59 deaths from the disease on Thursday, according to the Central Epidemic Command Centers (CECC).

The 59 deaths were among people ranging in age from their 30s to 90s, and all but seven had underlying health issues such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases, the CECC said.

Thirty-three were unvaccinated against COVID-19, while six had received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, 10 had gotten two shots, and 10 had received three doses, the CECC data indicated.

Severe, moderate cases

Also on Thursday, the CECC reported 58 severe and 217 moderate cases, including a 15-year-old girl who was unvaccinated and had no chronic illness.

The girl tested positive after taking a rapid test on Sept. 16 and was found unconscious at home on Sept. 17, Deputy Director-General of the Center for Disease Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) said.

She was rushed to hospital and diagnosed with high fever and severe hypoxia, Lo said.

As the girl fell into a coma, the doctor arranged a CT scan which determined she had suffered an intracranial hemorrhage, which is believed to have been caused by an external impact, Lo added.

The patient underwent an operation on Sept. 17 to ease the pressure in her cranium and has since recovered well, Lo said, adding that the girl stopped using a respirator on Wednesday and is expected to be moved from the intensive care unit to a general ward on Thursday.

According to Lo, since the beginning of the pandemic, 15 adolescent patients (12-18 years of age) have been classified as severe cases, with eight diagnosed as having pneumonia, three multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), one myocarditis, and three other underlying health conditions, including one with trauma from a traffic accident and another admitted after a sedative overdose.

Five died, four from pneumonia and one from myocarditis, Lo said.

Regional breakdown

Regionally, New Taipei reported the highest number of new cases Thursday, with 9,060, Taichung had 5,464, Taipei 5,067, Taoyuan 4,488, Kaohsiung 3,506 and Tainan 2,434, the CECC said in a statement.

Changhua County had 2,079 new cases, Hsinchu County 1,175, Hsinchu City 1,064, Pingtung County 1,024, Yilan County 994, Yunlin County 989, Miaoli County 924, and Keelung 822.

Nantou County had 806 cases, Hualien County 660, Chiayi County 627, Chiayi City 400, Taitung County 347, Kinmen County 132, Penghu County 127, and the Matsu Islands 23, the CECC said.

To date, Taiwan has recorded 6,132,794 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in early 2020, including 33,125 classified as "imported." A total of 10,702 deaths have been recorded, with 10,686 designated local cases.

(By Chao Yen-hsiang)

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