Taiwan logs 26,336 new local COVID cases

台灣記錄了 26,336 例新的 COVID 本土病例

BA.5 comprises 92% of local infections, cases decrease by 8.6% compared to same day last week


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) confirmed 26,336 local COVID cases on Monday (Oct. 24), with 21 imported cases, and 62 deaths.

The number of local cases decreased by 8.6% compared to the same day last week, showing the pandemic is slowing down.

Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC's medical response division, reported that among 104 PCR-based pool testing for COVID-19 diagnosis of local cases performed last week, 92% were infected with Omicron BA.5 and the rest with BA.2. The new infectious variant BF.7 was not detected among the sampled local and imported infections last week.

Among 50 PCR-based pool testing for COVID-19 diagnosis of imported cases, 70% were infected with Omicron BA.5, followed by the variant BA.2.75 at 14%, BA.2 at 8%. Three cases of subvariant BQ were detected last week, which arrived from the U.K., Germany, and U.S. The XBB, another subvariant of the more transmissible Omicron variant, and BF.7 had not been detected by pool testing last week.

CECC head Victor Wang (王必勝) announced the end of the mandatory home isolation for those in close contact with the infected, starting from Nov. 7. This will be replaced by self-initiated health prevention to minimize the risk of infecting people they encounter.

Local cases

Local cases included 12,359 males and 13,962 females, ranging in age from under 5 to their 90s. 15 cases are still under investigation.

New Taipei City reported 4,717 cases, 3,465 in Taichung City, 3,009 in Kaohsiung City, 2,958 in Taoyuan City, 2,474 in Taipei City, 2,196 in Tainan City, 1,464 in Changhua County, 753 in Pingtung County, 699 in Hsinchu County, 649 Yunlin County, 590 in Hsinchu City, 548 in Miaoli County, 525 in Nantou County, 461 in Chiayi County, 427 in Yilan County, 374 in Keelung City, 347 in Chiayi City, 337 in Hualien County, 132 in Taitung County, 115 in Kinmen County, 92 in Penghu County, and 4 in Lienchiang County.

Imported cases

The 21 imported cases included 10 males and 11 females, ranging in age from under 5 to their 70s.

COVID deaths

The 62 deaths announced on Monday included 35 males and 27 females ranging in age from their 30s to 90s. All were classified as severe cases, with 60 of them having a history of chronic disease and 42 not receiving the third dose of a COVID vaccine.

A man in his 30s, who was diagnosed with neural system disease and had not been vaccinated, was the youngest death recorded on Monday. In Taiwan, approximately 90% of the deceased after infection had multiple chronic or cardiovascular diseases.

Total COVID case statistics

Since the pandemic began, Taiwan has confirmed 7,476,478 cases, of which 7,440,352 were local and 36,072 were imported. So far, 12,385 individuals have succumbed to the disease, with 17 deaths reported among imported cases.