Infections have been newly confirmed at two more healthcare facilities, bringing the tally of facilities to five, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday as it reported 286 new domestic cases of COVID-19 and nine imported cases.
Transmissions of COVID-19 were newly identified at two Taipei healthcare facilities: Taipei City Hospital’s Heping branch and Tri-Service General Hospital’s Songshan branch, Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) told the center’s afternoon briefing.
Transmissions were previously found at Far Eastern Memorial Hospital in New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋), Renhui Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Kaohsiung’s Fongshan District (鳳山), and a hemodialysis clinic in Taipei, said Lo, who is deputy head of the center’s medical response division.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Yesterday, the center reported 295 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases — 286 local infections and nine imported cases.
Of the domestic cases, 155 were males and 131 were females, ranging in age from younger than five to older than 90, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center.
New Taipei City had the most locally transmitted cases at 157 — including 40 in Jhonghe District (中和) — followed by Taipei with 87 — including 40 in Wanhua District (萬華) — Taoyuan with 17, Yilan County with eight, Changhua County with six, Keelung with five, Kaohsiung and Taichung with two each, and Yunlin County and Hsinchu City with one each, the center said.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
The nine imported cases were six arrivals from the Philippines and one arrival each from the US, South Africa and Indonesia, it said.
The CECC also recorded one death from COVID-19, a woman in her 70s (case No. 2,683).
On Saturday last week, the woman, who had lived alone, worked in Wanhua and been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease, developed weakness and fatigue, but refused to seek medical attention, the center said.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
On Sunday, she was identified through contact tracing as someone who needed to be tested for COVID-19, and on Monday, family members went to her home, but found her with no signs of life, the center said.
Yesterday, a dog care provider at the presidential residence was confirmed to have been infected with COVID-19, and President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and all of the Presidential Office staff were given nucleic acid tests for SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, and the results all returned negative, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said.
The volunteer, who took care of retired service dogs, tested positive on Wednesday and was one of the domestic cases announced by the center yesterday, Chang said.
The volunteer last visited the Presidential Office on Tuesday last week from 9am to 5:40pm, but had not come into contact with the president, he added.
Additional reporting by CNA
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