The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 17,949 new local COVID-19 cases, 117 imported cases and 36 deaths from the disease.
The number of daily cases is likely to exceed 20,000 next week, it added.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC spokesperson, said the number of local cases yesterday was 16.1 percent higher than that reported on Saturday last week.
Photo: CNA
Cases this week increased by about 10 percent compared with the previous week, and new cases next week are expected to rise by about 10 to 15 percent.
People who are attending Christmas events are advised to wear a mask if they cannot practice social distancing in crowded venues, and to rest at home if they experience symptoms.
Of the 36 deaths reported yesterday, 32 had cancer or other chronic diseases, 26 did not get a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 17 were unvaccinated, the CECC’s data showed.
One death reported yesterday was an unvaccinated man in his 40s, who was living alone in a rented apartment without contact with his family, and tested positive for COVID-19 upon discovery of his body on June 27, Chuang said, adding that it is unclear whether he had underlying health conditions.
The local health department reported the case this month after a lengthy investigation, determining the cause of death to be cardiogenic shock with COVID-19 infection, he said.
Separately, the CECC yesterday rejected a claim by a media personality on Friday that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and three top government officials last year had postponed the delivery of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines by six weeks.
The accusation was that the government insisted the vaccine should not be labeled with the Chinese name for the tradename Comirnaty — 復必泰 — and that they asked for a label showing the Chinese name to be removed when the shipment arrived.
A statement issued by the CECC denied the allegation.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
MINOR DISRUPTION: The outage affected check-in and security screening, while passport control was done manually and runway operations continued unaffected The main departure hall and other parts of Terminal 2 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport lost power on Tuesday, causing confusion among passengers before electricity was fully restored more than an hour later. The outage, the cause of which is still being investigated, began at about midday and affected parts of Terminal 2, including the check-in gates, the security screening area and some duty-free shops. Parts of the terminal immediately activated backup power sources, while others remained dark until power was restored in some of the affected areas starting at 12:23pm. Power was fully restored at 1:13pm. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a
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