The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 250 new local COVID-19 cases and 26 deaths.
The local cases are 116 males and 134 females, aged from younger than five to older than 100, who began experiencing symptoms between May 28 and Friday, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center.
Most new cases were reported in northern Taiwan, with 133 in New Taipei City, 65 in Taipei, 16 in Keelung and 13 in Taoyuan, Chen said.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Miaoli recorded nine new cases; Hualien had three; Hsinchu, Taichung, and Yilan and Changhua counties had two each; and Yunlin County and Kaohsiung had one case each, he added.
Among the 26 deaths reported yesterday, 17 were men and nine women, who were aged from their 40s to older than 100, Chen said.
Twenty-four of them had underlying health conditions, one had no comorbidities and one case is being investigated, CECC data showed.
Some of the new cases contracted the disease while being in contact with an infected person for just a short time, Chen said, adding that multiple infections within the same household were also common.
The daily case count has remained between 200 and 300 for several days, indicating that the pandemic situation has neither worsened rapidly nor improved significantly, Chen said.
People should remain vigilant, Chen said, adding that one of the center’s main goals is to detect infections as quickly as possible by expanding rapid COVID-19 testing.
While rapid testing at healthcare facilities and companies have been approved, a few local distributors have applied for importing at-home test kits.
Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥), who is deputy head of the CECC, said that the center apologizes for causing inconvenience to commuters and delivery drivers affected by ramp metering controls implemented to discourage traveling during the Dragon Boat Festival extended weekend.
The center is thankful that many people who had plans to travel over the weekend instead stayed at home, Chen Tsung-yen said.
The traffic volume on Taiwan’s freeways at 8am yesterday was 67.7 percent of the volume at the same time last year, he said.
However, markets in Taipei and New Taipei City were still crowded with people yesterday morning, Chen Tsung-yen said, urging people to plan their shopping trips by writing shopping lists and going at a time when they expect less crowding.
Meanwhile, Chen Shih-chung said that the center has granted conditional approval to EirGenix Inc (台康生技), commissioned by the Yonglin Charity and Education Foundation and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘), for the importation of the BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine directly from the German firm.
If EirGenix provides an official certificate from the manufacturer, the Food and Drug Administration would issue an emergency use authorization for the vaccine, he said.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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