News
No shortage of hospital beds for Covid patients
The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 81,852 local Covid cases today with a record 104 deaths. Some 60% of those cases were aged 80 or above and most were already suffering chronic diseases or cancer.
The CECC also says that 333 patients suffered moderate or serious symptoms. CECC physician Luo Yi-jun says seven children have died of Covid-19, and five of them developed encephalitis, one had sepsis, while one died at home. Luo says there's another seven-year-old boy who is in an Intensive Care Unit right now as he also has cancer and pneumonia.
He reminds parents to monitor their children closely if there are relevant symptoms, saying that during the recent outbreak, a total of 16 children developed serious conditions.
Meanwhile, health minister Chen Shi-chung is calling for cooperation and support from other government agencies, cities and counties in combating Covid-19.
He says with the case number plateauing, fatalities are bound to rise, and the central and local governments need to do their best to deal with the impact.
Chen also says that currently over 13,000 hospital beds nationwide are devoted to the treatment of coronavirus patients, and 42% of them remain available. In the greater Taipei area, however, that ratio drops to 30%.
In other Covid news, the CECC says Taiwan's Digital Covid-19 Certificate system has begun to offer two additional types of documents. One lists an individual's positive rapid test result, and the other an isolation notice for people whose co-habitants test positive for the disease.
The system had previously only shown certificates that displayed one's vaccination status or PCR test results.
The Center says automatic issuance of isolation notices is currently highest in southern Taiwan, with 79.3%, followed by eastern Taiwan, central Taiwan, and then northern Taiwan.
