The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 1,626 local cases of COVID-19 and two associated deaths, including a two-year-old boy and a man in his 90s.
The center also announced revised testing requirements for people under home isolation or home quarantine, which take effect today.
Imported cases stood at 101, including 36 each from Vietnam and Indonesia, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center.
Photo courtesy of the Pingtung County Government
New Taipei City had the most new domestic cases with 583, followed by Taipei with 287, Taoyuan with 197, Keelung with 148, Hualien County with 74, Kaohsiung with 64, Yilan County with 61, Taichung with 50, Tainan with 45, Hsinchu with 27, and sporadic cases in 11 other cities and counties.
One case with moderate complications was reclassified as a case with severe complications, making this year’s tally 43 cases with moderate complications (or 0.37 percent of total cases) and four with severe complications (0.03 percent).
Two deaths were also confirmed yesterday, meaning that the four people with severe complications have died, Chen said.
One of the deaths is a two-year-old boy who did not have a chronic illness, said Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division.
The boy — who exhibited symptoms on Wednesday last week, and was diagnosed and hospitalized the next day — died of sepsis and brainstem encephalitis yesterday morning, Lo said.
Doctors suspect the boy had also contracted other viruses, although test results have so far been negative, he added.
The boy is the youngest to die due to COVID-19 in Taiwan, Chen said.
A specialists’ meeting is to take place today to discuss emergency treatment guidelines for infected children, he added.
Chen said the other person who died is a man in his 90s who received three vaccine doses, but had a history of cancer, heart failure and chronic kidney disease.
The man was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Thursday and died on Saturday, he said.
Chen announced revised testing requirements for people isolating after having had close contact with a confirmed case.
The first test is to be a rapid COVID-19 test or a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, he said.
If a rapid test is positive, a PCR test would be conducted to confirm the result, Chen said.
Another rapid test would be given on the 10th day of isolation, before the person’s release, he said.
Inbound travelers in home quarantine would receive a PCR test upon their arrival and a rapid test on the 10th day of quarantine, before being released, he said.
An additional at-home rapid test kit would be given to people in home isolation or quarantine to use upon detecting symptoms, he added.
PCR tests are required for children under two years old, the CECC said, adding that if someone in home quarantine or isolation cannot perform a rapid test on their own, their local health department can arrange for someone to assist them.
Negotiations to purchase doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for adults and children are complete, he said, adding that a contract is likely to be signed soon, as agencies are conducting their final reviews.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS