TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) confirmed 20,160 local COVID cases on Monday (Aug. 29), 288 imported cases, and 22 deaths.
At the CECC's daily press briefing, Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC's medical response division, confirmed that among the new cases of Omicron subvariants reported last week, 94 were local and 61 were imported.
As of Monday, among the Omicon subvariants imported, 80 have been infected with BA.4, 662 with BA.5, which may be the most contagious strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus yet, and 10 with BA.2.75. Among those infected with subvariants domestically, 3 have been infected with BA.4, 186 with BA.5, and none with BA.2.75.
CECC head Victor Wang (王必勝) announced there was a woman in her 30s who died from a BA.5 infection and that marks the country's first severe case and death associated with the variant. However, most BA.5 infections are considered mild or asymptomatic.
Wang also predicted the latest outbreak would peak in late September. He also noted the country has also had 6,734 COVID reinfections.
There were no new cases of young children suffering multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) after a COVID-19 infection. As of today, 115 children have been diagnosed with MIS-C after their COVID-19 infections.
Local cases
Local cases included 9,313 males, 10,836 females, and 11 cases still under investigation, ranging in age from under 5 to their 90s.
New Taipei City reported 4,123 cases, followed by 2,471 in Taoyuan City, 2,470 in Taipei City, 2,249 in Taichung City, 1,504 in Kaohsiung City, 1,220 in Tainan City, 854 in Changhua County, 798 in Hsinchu County, 604 in Hsinchu City, 512 in Miaoli County, 488 in Pingtung County, 429 in Hualien County, 414 in Yilan County, 394 in Yunlin County, 385 in Keelung City, 317 in Nantou County, 305 in Chiayi County, 205 in Chiayi City, 162 in Taitung County, 143 in Penghu County, 90 in Kinmen County, and 32 in Lienchiang County.
COVID deaths
The 22 deaths announced on Monday included 11 males and 11 females ranging in age from their 50s to 90s, and all of the deceased were classified as severe cases. 20 of them had a history of chronic disease, and 15 had not received the third dose of a COVID vaccine. Their dates of diagnosis and death ranged from July 3 to Aug. 26.
Imported cases
The 288 imported cases included 137 males and 151 females, ranging in age from under 5 to their 70s.
Total COVID case statistics
Since the pandemic began, Taiwan has confirmed 5,242,009 cases, of which 5,214,657 were local and 27,298 were imported. So far, 9,866 individuals have succumbed to the disease, with 16 deaths reported among imported cases.