The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 27,105 new local COVID-19 cases — an increase of 43.6 percent compared with the same day last week — and 21 deaths from the disease.
Local infections were reported from every city and county, with the most cases being in New Taipei City, which reported 5,462 cases.
Taichung reported 3,226 cases, followed by Kaohsiung with 3,181, Taoyuan with 3,139, Taipei with 2,450, Tainan with 2,197, Changhua County with 1,239 and fewer than 1,000 each in the 16 remaining cities and counties.
Photo: Tony Yao, Taipei Times
The total number of new local infections last week — between Sunday and Saturday — was 139,010, which is about 5.7 percent higher than the week before — with 131,564 cases, the center said.
A total of 9,393,162 local infections were confirmed between Jan. 1 last year and Saturday. Of those, 99.54 percent were asymptomatic or mild cases, while 0.27 percent were moderate cases and 0.19 percent were severe cases, it said, reporting 15,387 deaths in the period.
Of the total deaths, 91 percent had underlying health conditions, 66 percent had not received a vaccine booster and 91 percent were aged 60 or older, CECC data showed.
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC spokesperson, said that among the 21 newly confirmed deaths, the youngest case was a man in his 30s, who had liver cirrhosis, esophageal varices and bleeding, and chronic kidney disease.
He fell into a coma at home after he tested positive for COVID-19 and was declared dead due to liver cirrhosis and COVID-19 infection, Chuang said.
A man in his 80s who had cancer was confirmed dead after returning to Taiwan from China on Jan. 11, Chuang said, adding that he tested positive for COVID-19 and had symptoms including coughing, fever, weakness and shortness of breath.
The man died on Thursday, he said.
The CECC also reported 245 imported cases yesterday.
Of the 969 air passengers arriving from China on Friday, eight people tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival — a positivity rate of 0.8 percent.
Of the 64 passengers who arrived in Kinmen County via ferry from China on Friday, one person tested positive upon arrival — a positivity rate of 1.6 percent, the center’s data showed.
Meanwhile, as the Lunar New Year long holiday came to an end yesterday and many people have returned to Taiwan from abroad, the CECC said people should initiate “0+7” self-disease prevention measures, and take at-home rapid tests according to the guidelines.
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