Southern Taiwan is continuing to deal with an outbreak of dengue fever; so far the total number of cases has reached 20,241. The Central Epidemic Command Center for Dengue Fever announced the latest figures on Saturday. It said that there were 274 new cases in Tainan, which has seen the vast majority of cases – a total of more than 17,278. Kaohsiung’s total number of cases is now at 2,636, while Pingtung County has reached 81. The remainder of the cities and counties in Taiwan are largely reporting cases which originated elsewhere.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang said Sunday that the average number of new cases in Tainan has eased over the past ten cases. He said, though, that there has been a minor increase in cases in Kaohsiung, and that the CDC was continuing to closely monitor the situation.
Meanwhile, Chuang said that there had been two more dengue fever-related deaths on Saturday, bringing the total to 56 people. There are another 55 deaths which are thought to be connected, but have yet to be confirmed. Right now there are 54 people with dengue fever in intensive care. The recovery rate for dengue fever patients during the current outbreak is 83.4%.