Taiwan reports 274 local COVID cases, 15 deaths, 73 backlog cases

台灣新增冠狀病毒本土病例274例，死亡15例，校正回歸73例

Taiwan reports 15 COVID deaths, bringing total death toll to 124


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Monday (May 31) reported 274 new local coronavirus cases, 73 backlog cases, and 15 deaths, bringing the country's total death toll to 124.

Health Minister and CECC head Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) announced 278 coronavirus cases, including four imported. Chen also announced 15 deaths and 73 cases that had been added retroactively, resulting in a total of 351 cases reported.

Local cases

The latest local cases include 129 males and 145 females between the ages of five and 90, with the dates of symptom onset and testing ranging from April 20 to May 30. The 73 retroactively added cases include 36 males and 37 females between the ages of five and 80, with the dates of symptom onset and testing ranging from May 14-29.

Of the 347 new and backlog local cases, 171 were in New Taipei City, 122 in Taipei City, 27 in Taoyuan City, 10 in Changhua County, five in Taichung City, three each in Keelung City and Miaoli County, two cases in Hsinchu City, and one each in Hualien County, Penghu County, Kaohsiung City, and Hsinchu County.

Epidemiological investigations found that 293 had recently been in Taipei or New Taipei, two had engaged in activities in Taipei's Wanhua District, and 54 had most recently been in other cities and counties. There are cases 46 from other known sources and six from unknown sources, with related investigations still ongoing.

COVID deaths

Chen said the 15 coronavirus-related deaths reported Monday include case Nos. 1,778, 2,111, 2,616, 2,656, 2,658, 2,795, 3,143, 4,936, 5,698, 5,732, 6,803, 7,140, 7,277, 8,031, and 8,134. They include nine men and six women aged 60 to 90.

The dates of symptom onset and testing ranged from May 11-28, while the date of diagnoses ranged between May 17 and 30. The dates of death ranged from May 21-29.

Imported cases

Among the four imported cases, three are Taiwanese who recently returned from India. Case No. 8,419 is a man in his 30s, No. 8,531 is a woman in her 50s, and No. 8,532 is a man in his 50s.

Case No. 8,531 first began experiencing symptoms of the virus on April 29, while Nos. 8,419 and 8,532 started to suffer symptoms on May 10. The three were tested in Taiwan upon arrival on May 29 and were diagnosed with COVID-19 on May 31.

Case No. 8,434 is a Taiwanese man in his 40s who returned to Taiwan from South Africa on May 14. He began to experience symptoms of the disease on May 29.

The health department arranged for him to undergo a coronavirus test and he was diagnosed with COVID-19 on May 31.

COVID case statistics

Since the outbreak began, Taiwan has carried out 502,354 COVID-19 tests, with 466,018 coming back negative. Out of the 8,511 confirmed cases, 1,137 were imported, 7,321 were local, 36 came from the Navy's "Goodwill Fleet," two were from a cargo pilot cluster, and one was an unresolved case.

A total of 21 people have been removed as confirmed cases, while 14 cases are still under investigation. Up until now, 124 individuals have succumbed to the disease.

The CECC reminds the public that under the current Level 3 restrictions, they are required to wear a mask at all times outside their home. It has also prohibited indoor gatherings of more than five people and outdoor gatherings of more than 10.