Taiwan reports 347 local COVID-19 cases, 15 deaths

Taiwan on Monday reported 274 new local COVID-19 infections, 73 backlogged local cases and 15 new deaths, the local disease monitoring agency said.

It is the 16th consecutive day that the number of new local infections on the island has exceeded 200.

Of the new local cases, 129 were male and 145 were female. The onset of symptoms occurred between April 29 and May 30.

Among the 73 backlogged cases, 36 were male and 37 were female, aged below five to over 80, the agency said.

The 15 fatalities included nine men and six women, who passed away between May 21 and May 29.

On the same day, Taiwan also reported four new imported COVID-19 cases from India and South Africa.

Since mid-May, Taiwan has seen a spike in local infections amid strained medical resources. Given the severity of local transmissions, Taiwan has extended its level-3 alert for COVID-19 to June 14.

The total number of confirmed cases on the island since the epidemic began has risen to 8,511, including 7,321 local cases. A total of 124 deaths have been reported, the agency said.