The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 32 new local cases of COVID-19 and 12 deaths.
While the figures were higher than on Thursday, the overall COVID-19 situation is easing, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, told a daily news briefing in Taipei.
Among the new local cases, 19 were in Taipei, 11 in New Taipei City and two in Taoyuan, center data showed.
Photo: CNA
Fourteen cases had clear sources of infection, it showed.
The 12 deaths are eight men and four women, aged from their 40s to their 80s, and they died between Wednesday last week and Thursday, it showed.
Ten of them had chronic diseases, and three of them died from causes unrelated to COVID-19, the center said.
Photo courtesy of the Central Epidemic Command Center
Since the CECC on Thursday announced that local governments could lift certain disease prevention measures imposed through a nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert, many people have voiced questions about the details of the policy.
Some social media users said that the CECC has eased curbs on hiking, while leaving curbs on water activities in place, because of political bias: Mountains are green, the color of the Democratic Progressive Party, while the sea is blue, the color of the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
Chen denied the accusations.
Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥), the center’s deputy head, said that mask wearing is possible while hiking, but impossible while swimming.
Regarding a virus cluster linked to three markets in Taipei, CECC data showed that the number of cases totaled 237.
Among them, 123 were linked to venues of Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corp in Wanhua (萬華) and Zhongshan (中山) districts, while 114 were linked to Huannan Market in Wanhua, it showed.
The CECC and the Taipei City Government on Friday last week set up a joint mission to curb the outbreaks at the markets.
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said that three cases were infected with the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, one with the Alpha variant, one with the Gamma variant and one is under investigation.
The variants of 10 cases could not be determined due to excessive cycle threshold values, he said, adding that cases with high cycle threshold values are less infectious.
As of yesterday, the nation had recorded 15,185 cases of COVID-19 and 730 deaths.
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