Taipei: The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recorded 38 COVID-19-related deaths and 144 severe domestic cases over the past week, as the ongoing outbreak remains intense.

According to Focus Taiwan, the deaths reported between June 10 and 16 mark the highest weekly toll so far in 2025. Additionally, the 66,951 cases reported from June 8 to 14 represent a 6.2 percent decrease from the previous week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Kuo Hung-wei said at a regular press briefing in Taipei.

Among the 38 deaths was the youngest COVID-19 fatality of the year, a man in his 20s with no underlying health conditions but a childhood history of meningitis, according to CDC physician Lin Yung-ching. The man had received three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine in 2022 but had not received further boosters. He developed persistent symptoms in late May and was eventually hospitalized with severe complications before succumbing to the illness in early June.

CDC spokesperson Lo Yi-chun noted that the current outbreak, which began on May 25, is expected to maintain its intensity until the end of July. The CDC projects a total of 420,000 cases during this wave. Over 80 percent of recent domestic fatalities had not received the JN.1 COVID-19 vaccine, prompting the agency to urge people aged 65 and over to get vaccinated promptly.