The COVID-19 situation appears to be relatively stable and on a downward trend, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said yesterday, as he reported 185 domestic COVID-19 cases and 15 deaths.
“This seems to be a relatively good sign,” Chen, who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), told a daily news briefing.
In Taipei and New Taipei City, the overall situation seems to be heading in a good direction, he added.
Photo: CNA
He attributed it to public efforts to control the spread of the virus, but warned people against letting their guard down.
Of the new local cases, 83 are males and 102 are females, from younger than five to older than 90, the center said.
The onset of their symptoms was between May 28 and Sunday, it said.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
New Taipei City had the most local infections, with 98 cases, followed by 42 in Taipei, it said.
Keelung had 14 cases, Taoyuan had 10, Miaoli County had seven, Hualien County had four, Changhua and Hsinchu counties reported three cases each, Yilan County recorded two cases, and Taichung and Yunlin County each had one case, it said.
Of the 45 domestic cases reported outside Taipei and New Taipei City, 37 had known sources of infection, five had unclear connections with other cases and three were under investigation, it said.
The 15 deaths were nine men and six women in their 50s to 90s, the center said, adding that only one of them did not have a chronic health condition.
They experienced an onset of symptoms between May 10 and Tuesday last week. They were confirmed to have COVID-19 between May 18 and Sunday, and died between June 5 and Sunday, the center said.
Of the 11,547 confirmed COVID-19 cases recorded from May 11 to Saturday, 5,802 people, or 50.2 percent, have been released from isolation, the center said.
The nation on June 4 recorded the highest number of patients being treated in hospital rooms dedicated to people with COVID-19, at 2,539 patients, said Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy chief of the CECC’s medical response division.
The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has been on a downward trend since that peak, he added.
As of yesterday morning, the number of people being treated in dedicated COVID-19 rooms across the nation had fallen 14 percent from the peak to 2,198, Lo said.
The number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care peaked at 435 on June 7, he said.
That figure has also continued to decline over the past week, he said.
As of yesterday, 389 COVID-19 patients nationwide were in intensive care, he said.
Meanwhile, as the nation prepares to expand vaccinations to more priority groups starting today, Chen urged people to show their support to local disease control personnel.
People lining up for COVID-19 vaccinations should maintain social distancing and wear a mask, he said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique