The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 42,470 new COVID-19 infections and 59 deaths.
The deceased were aged from their 30s to their 90s and all but seven had underlying health issues, such as cancer or cardiovascular disease, the CECC said.
Thirty-three were not vaccinated against COVID-19, while six had received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, 10 had received two shots and 10 had received three, CECC data showed.
The center also reported 58 severe and 217 moderate cases, including a 15-year-old girl who was not vaccinated against COVID-19 and has no chronic illnesses.
She tested positive with a rapid test on Friday last week and was found unconscious at home the next day, said Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division.
She was rushed to a hospital, where she was found to have a high fever and severe hypoxia, Lo said.
A computerized tomography scan showed that she had an intracranial hemorrhage, which is believed to have been caused by an impact to the head, he said.
She underwent surgery to ease the pressure in her cranium and has since recovered, he said.
She was taken off a respirator on Wednesday and was expected to be moved from an intensive care unit to a general ward yesterday, Lo said.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 15 adolescents aged 12 to 18 have been classified as severe COVID-19 cases, with eight diagnosed with pneumonia, three with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, one with myocarditis and three with other underlying health conditions, including trauma traffic accidents and a sedative overdose, Lo said.
Four of the adolescents with pneumonia and the one with myocarditis have died, he said.
New Taipei City reported the highest number of new cases yesterday, with 9,060, while Taichung had 5,464, Taipei 5,067, Taoyuan 4,488, Kaohsiung 3,506 and Tainan 2,434, CECC data showed.
Changhua County had 2,079 new cases, Hsinchu County 1,175, Hsinchu City 1,064, Pingtung County 1,024, Yilan County 994, Yunlin County 989, Miaoli County 924 and Keelung 822, the data showed.
Nantou County reported 806 cases, Hualien County 660, Chiayi County 627, Chiayi City 400, Taitung County 347, Kinmen County 132, Penghu County 127 and Lienchiang County 23, the data showed.
Taiwan has recorded 6,132,794 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in early 2020, including 33,125 imported cases. There have been 10,702 deaths, including 10,686 among local cases.
In related news, the government yesterday morning took delivery of a second batch of Novavax COVID-19 vaccines containing 504,000 doses.
They are expected to be distributed to local governments on Friday next week to inoculate people aged 12 or older.
The shipment was part of the nation’s agreement with the Gavi Vaccine Alliance to purchase 4.76 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, including about 2.27 million doses of the Novavax vaccine, under the COVAX international distribution system.
China Airlines flight CI-74 transported the doses from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, landing at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 7:09am.
The vaccines were taken to a facility for inspection and packaging.
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