Taiwan reports 266 COVID-19 cases, 28 deaths Thursday

TAIPEI, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan on Thursday reported 266 COVID-19 cases and 28 deaths, the island's disease monitoring agency said.

Of the reported cases, 263 were local infections, with the onset of symptoms occurring between May 22 and Wednesday.

Deaths included 21 men and seven women, in their 50s to 90s, who passed away between June 1 and Wednesday.

Taiwan is struggling to contain its worst COVID-19 outbreak amid a lack of vaccines and strained medical resources. By Thursday, Taiwan's COVID-19 mortality rate was close to 3 percent, higher than the global average.

Experts called for expanded COVID-19 testing in communities as part of efforts to provide a better picture of prevalence of the infection in Taiwan.

On the same day, Taiwan also reported three imported cases from India, Nigeria and the United States.

The total number of confirmed cases on the island since the epidemic began has risen to 12,222, including 11,017 local cases. A total of 361 deaths have been recorded, the agency said.