The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 56,339 local COVID-19 cases and 115 deaths, and said there were two cases of possible multisystem inflammatory syndrome in adults (MIS-A), but they still have to be confirmed by specialists.
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division, said the number of new local cases was higher than Monday’s, but caseloads on Tuesdays and Wednesdays are usually inflated, as some people who test positive during the weekend do not seek medical attention until Monday, with the cases reported after that.
Today’s data need to be assessed to better understand the COVID-19 situation, but the daily caseload seems to be falling from a peak and is expected to drop below 50,000 per day this week, Lo said.
Photo: CNA
The most cases were reported in Taichung, with 8,341, followed by Kaohsiung with 8,048, New Taipei City with 6,878, Tainan with 5,527 and Changhua County with 4,625, CECC data showed.
Sixty-eight new moderate cases, 141 severe cases and 115 deaths were confirmed, Lo said, adding that 107 of those who died had underlying health conditions, while 72 did not receive a booster shot of a COVID-19 vaccine.
The youngest among those who died were in their 30s: One had liver cirrhosis and died of gastrointestinal hemorrhage and sepsis, while another had chronic kidney disease and died of pneumonia and septic shock, he said.
Two severe cases were a four-month-old and a two-year-old boy who both had underlying health issues and pneumonia after infection, but their conditions improved after treatment, although they are still in hospital, he said.
Two suspected MIS-A cases were reported by healthcare facilities: A man in his 20s who had multisystem inflammation after recovering from a COVID-19 infection, and a man in his 50s who died of multiple organ failure, myocarditis and pneumonia 11 days after being diagnosed with COVID-19, Lo said.
The man who died did not meet the standard for MIS-A diagnosis based on the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s definition, which is that a patient must have fever of 38°C or higher for at least 24 hours, or had at least three primary or secondary clinical criteria — with at least one of them being primary — prior to hospitalization or within the first three days of hospitalization, Lo said.
The primary clinical criteria are severe cardiac illness — including myocarditis, pericarditis, ventricular tachycardia and other conditions — and “rash and non-purulent conjunctivitis,” he said.
The secondary criteria are new-onset neurologic signs and symptoms, including encephalopathy in a patient without prior cognitive impairment, seizures, meningeal signs or peripheral neuropathy; shock or hypotension not attributable to medical therapy; abdominal pain, vomiting, or diarrhea; and thrombocytopenia, he added.
Compared to MIS-C in children, MIS-A is more difficult to identify, as the criteria are more complicated and exacerbation of a chronic medical condition needs to be excluded, Lo said.
While a preliminary review did not classify the two cases as MIS-A, they would be discussed further at a specialists’ meeting, he said.
Meanwhile, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, tested positive again in a COVID-19 rapid test yesterday, Lo said.
Although Chen has been released from isolation and attended an internal meeting at noon yesterday, and while his condition seemed to have improved with a mild cough the only symptom, he has decided to be extra cautious and did not host the news conference, Lo said.
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