TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) confirmed 26,967 local COVID cases on Thursday (Aug. 25), 308 imported cases, and 37 deaths.
The number of local cases increased by 16.8% from the same period last week.
Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC's medical response division, said there were three new cases of young children suffering multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) after a COVID-19 infection, including a five-year-old boy who had no history of chronic disease and received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines before testing positive in mid-July. All of them were discharged from hospitals and have recovered.
At the daily press briefing, CECC spokesman Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) announced that people aged 65 and older can also get five at-home COVID-19 rapid test kits free of charge from Sept. 1 at locally commissioned pharmacies and local health centers. Around 3.99 million older adults nationwide are qualified to receive free tests, which follows a program that parents of young children aged under six can get five test kits free of charge from Aug. 24, Chuang added.
Local cases
Local cases included 12,263 males, 14,694 females, and 10 cases still under investigation, ranging in age from under 5 to their 90s.
New Taipei City reported 5,892 cases, followed by 3,444 in Taipei City, 2,995 in Taichung City, 2,935 in Taoyuan City, 2,138 in Kaohsiung City, 1,765 in Tainan City, 1,069 in Changhua County, 820 in Hsinchu County, 716 in Miaoli County, 713 in Hsinchu City, 635 in Pingtung County, 612 in Yunlin County, 582 in Yilan County, 531 in Hualien County, 526 in Keelung City, 423 in Chiayi County, 387 in Nantou County, 251 in Taitung County, 242 in Chiayi City, 158 in Penghu County, 126 in Kinmen County, and 7 in Lienchiang County.
COVID deaths
The 37 deaths announced on Thursday included 25 males and 12 females ranging in age from their 30s to 90s. All of these individuals were classified as severe cases, 34 of them had a history of chronic disease, and 26 had not received the third dose of a COVID vaccine. Their dates of diagnosis and death ranged from May 19 to Aug. 22.
Imported cases
The 308 imported cases included 157 males and 151 females ranging in age from under 5 to their 70s.
Total COVID case statistics
Since the pandemic began, Taiwan has confirmed 5,142,279 cases, of which 5,116,153 were local and 26,072 were imported.
So far, 9,728 individuals have succumbed to the disease, with 16 deaths reported among imported cases.