《TAIPEI TIMES》 CECC reports 401 local COVID-19 cases, 13 deaths

By Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporter

The Central Epidemic Command Center （CECC） yesterday reported 401 new domestic cases of COVID-19, 13 deaths and 266 backlogged cases.

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Of the newly confirmed local infections, 190 are male and 211 are female, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung （陳時中）, who heads the center, said at a daily briefing in Taipei.

They range in age from younger than five to older than 100, while the onset of their symptoms was between April 26 and Wednesday, he said.

New Taipei City had the most locally transmitted cases at 177, followed by Taipei with 130, Taoyuan with 18, Keelung with 15, Kaohsiung with 14, Changhua County with 10, Taichung with seven and Hualien County with six, he said.

Yilan and Hsinchu counties had five cases each, while Taitung County had four cases and Pingtung County had three, he said.

Chiayi City and Lienchiang County had two cases each, while Miaoli, Nantou and Yunlin counties each had one case, he said.

Of the backlogged cases, 140 are male and 126 are female, Chen said.

They range in age from younger than five to older than 90, while the onset of their symptoms was from May 15 to Wednesday, he said.

New Taipei City had the most backlogged cases at 146, followed by Taipei with 101, he said.

Yilan County had five cases, Taoyuan had four and Keelung had two cases, he said.

Changhua County and Taichung each had three cases, while Chiayi City and Tainan each had one, he added.

The CECC yesterday recorded 13 deaths, the highest number in a single day since the pandemic began. The previous record of 11 deaths was reported on Wednesday.

The deaths reported yesterday, all of whom were Taiwanese, included two women in their 90s, five men in their 70s, three men in their 60s, a man in his 50s and a woman in her 40s, the center said.

Eight of the people who died had recently been in Taipei’s Wanhua District （萬華）, while two had been contacts of confirmed cases, it added.

Among the deaths, eight had a history of chronic diseases, including hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, asthma and hyperlipidemia, the center said.

One of the cases had undergone hemodialysis and another had a medical history of aortic dissection, it added.

The center also reported four new imported cases of COVID-19 — two arrivals from India and two from the Philippines.

In related news, the Coast Guard Administration yesterday confirmed media reports that one of its members stationed on Itu Aba Island （Taiping Island, 太平島） had tested positive for the virus.

However, as medical facilities on the island, about 1,600km from Taiwan proper, were not able to confirm the diagnosis, the person would be transported to Taiwan proper for further testing, the administration added.

A patrol vessel named Chiayi had arrived yesterday and was expected to return with the suspected case over the weekend, it said.

The 4,000-tonne vessel is equipped with negative-pressure isolation wards and military doctors, the administration said, adding that the vessel was on a mission and the voyage was not to transport the person specifically.

The coast guard has not reported any confirmed cases so far, it added.

As of yesterday, the nation had recorded 6,761 confirmed cases of COVID-19 — including 1,124 imported cases and 5,584 local infections — and 59 deaths, center data showed.

From April 20 to Wednesday, 210 students were confirmed with COVID-19, according to data released by the Ministry of Education.

A nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert from May 19 is in effect until June 14.

Additional reporting by CNA and Lin Chia-nan

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES