People with COVID-19 who are under home care and in need of urgent medical treatment can be accompanied by another COVID-19 case to the hospital, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, as it reported 84,587 new local cases and 59 deaths.
Most of the asymptomatic or mild COVID-19 cases reported since late last month were put under home care — recovering at home in isolation — and have been allowed to seek emergency medical treatment.
Given that other members of one household often become infected with COVID-19 when one member tests positive, the center was being asked whether an infected member could accompany a housemate to the hospital, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said yesterday.
Confirmed cases who are under home care are advised to seek medical attention through telemedicine, but if they cannot book an appointment or need emergency treatment at a hospital, they can contact a local health department in advance and go to the hospital using private transport or a disease prevention vehicle.
An infected housemate is allowed to accompany a person in need of treatment to the hospital, he said, adding that they should wear a mask throughout the trip, inform the check-in counter of their positive status and avoid conversing in the hospital.
Meanwhile, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩), head of the CECC’s disease surveillance division, said 84,587 new local cases and 52 imported cases were reported yesterday, and 59 deaths were confirmed.
Photo: CNA
CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy chief of the CECC’s medical response division, said 153 new moderate cases and 70 new severe cases were reported yesterday, and 12 previously moderate cases developed into severe cases.
Of the 59 deaths, 56 people had underlying health conditions, 29 were unvaccinated and 43 had not received a booster shot, he said, adding that 34 people were aged 80 or older.
There are three cases of concern among the severe cases, including a woman in her 20s who has cancer and received two doses of a vaccine; she had pneumonia and difficulty breathing for five days after infection, but has been discharged from hospital after recovering, Lo said.
Another case is a five-year-old boy who has chronic muscular disease, and was taken to an emergency room after suffering leg pain and syncope. He was found to have pneumonia, a low blood oxygen level and cerebral edema. He was intubated and transferred to a pediatric unit at another hospital.
The third case is a nine-month-old infant who does not have underlying health issues, but had a fever, severe cough and loss of vitality. He later experienced a high fever and difficulty breathing, and was taken to an emergency room, where he was put on a ventilator.
The infant has been removed from the ventilator, but remained in an intensive care unit, Lo said.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
MULTIPRONGED APPROACH: China has sought to pressure Palau across a number of fronts, but the island nation has staunchly resisted overtures to ditch Taiwan Palau has been firm in backing Taiwan despite Chinese pressure that uses tourism economics, cyberattacks and criminal infiltration as tools to threaten the Pacific ally into renouncing its recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign state. The Presidential Office yesterday announced that Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) would visit Palau from Saturday to Wednesday next week at the invitation of Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr. Whipps in April said in an interview that China had outspokenly asked Palau to “denounce Taiwan.” “And we have said: ‘We have no enemies, but nobody tells us who our friends are,’” he said. Whipps has told reporters multiple times
RSS