ANKARA (AA) – Taiwan reported nearly 40,000 COVID-19 cases and over 90 deaths in the past 24 hours, health authorities said on Thursday.
Of the total 39,808 new cases, 39,763 are domestic and 45 are imported, taking the total caseload to over 7.30 million, the Central Epidemic Command Center said in a statement.
With 92 people deaths due to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, the total number of fatalities reached 12,128.
Taiwan closed itself off in early 2020 and imposed strict contact tracing, social restrictions, and hygiene measures until vaccinations began.
However, the number of new cases has been increasing since May, with Taiwan reporting over 6.7 million cases and 11,160 deaths in five months.
In April, authorities ended the “zero-COVID” policy, in sharp contrast to China, which considers Taiwan its breakaway province.
*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid