Taiwan reported 442 new local cases of COVID-19 on Saturday. That’s the highest daily total this year.
Authorities also recorded one new death from COVID-19 on Saturday. The deceased was a woman in her 90’s suffering from chronic illnesses. She was unvaccinated and tested positive on April 4 after contact with another confirmed case. She passed away on April 7.
President Tsai Ing-wen has urged the elderly in Taiwan to get vaccinated. She is currently in isolation as one of her relatives tested positive for COVID-19. Tsai had dined with the relative on April 4 and will be in isolation until April 14.
More than half of new local cases recorded on Saturday were asymptomatic. The highest number of positive cases was recorded in New Taipei City with 143, followed by Taipei with 95, and Taoyuan with 41 infections.
The numbers of people with COVID in other cities and counties are as follows:
Keelung: 39
Kaohsiung: 38
Hualien County: 24
Pingtung County: 14
Yilan County: 10
Chiayi County: 9
Hsinchu County: 8
Taichung: 7
Tainan: 6
Changhua County: 3
Miaoli County: 2
Hsinchu City: 1
Yunlin County: 1
Chiayi City: 1
Taiwan also recorded 136 imported cases of COVID-19 on Saturday. 107 of them tested positive on arrival in Taiwan, while the remaining 29 tested positive in quarantine. They include travelers coming from the Philippines, Indonesia, South Korea, and Singapore, among others. Travel histories of 114 cases are still under investigation.