Taiwan saw 240 new local and 5 new imported COVID-19 cases on Tuesday. There were also two patients that died of COVID-19 bringing total fatalities from the disease to 14. That was the word from the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC). On Tuesday, Taiwan’s local cases outnumbered imported cases for the first time. Taiwan has 1,121 local cases and 1,086 imported cases.
The two deaths are cases number 1522 and 2095. The former is a woman in her 60s who was working in Wanhua, a district in Taipei with a cluster outbreak. She had a fever on May 10, was tested on May 14 and was confirmed with the virus on May 16. She fell in her home on May 17 and was sent to the hospital, where she died.
Patient number 2095 is an 86 year old man who had pre-existing conditions. He was staying at the Far Eastern Memorial Hospital and confirmed with COVID-19 on May 16. His symptoms became much worse on May 17 and was unable to recover.
The CECC said that all classes at schools nationwide will not be held on campus from May 19 to May 28. That includes grades K-12, daycare centers, cram schools, and universities. Schools will move to online learning and there will be no make-up classes in the summer.
Over half of Taiwan’s counties have seen confirmed cases in this recent domestic outbreak. Tuesday’s cases include 106 in New Taipei City, 102 in Taipei, 12 in Taoyuan City, 10 in Changhua County, 3 in Keelung City, 3 in Kaohsiung City, 2 in Hsinchu County, 1 in Hsinchu City, and 1 in Yunlin County.
There are 88 cases related to teahouses in Taipei, 67 from Taipei’s Wanhua District, 2 from a social club, 2 from a temple worship group, and 1 from an entertainment venue in Yilan. There are 51 with unclear sources and 29 are still being investigated.
Health officials say that over 80% of the cases have been mild and these patients should stay quarantined at home unless their symptoms become more serious.