Correction: An earlier version of this story mistakenly reported that the epidemic is expected to peak at 10,000 cases a day. This projection has been corrected to 100,000 cases a day.

At 256, Taiwan hit a new high for moderate to severe COVID cases Sunday. Notably, three were children and two of them, a 1-year-old boy and a 10-year-old boy, developed complications relating to encephalitis. So far, Taiwan has seen a total of 12 children with severe COVID symptoms, with five having developed encephalitis, and two of them dead. The CECC is reminding parents of infected children to pay close attention to their kids'' health, and seek medical attention immediately if they see any one of eight warning signs. Let''s find out what they are.

Philip Lo
CECC medical response division
Here are eight symptoms that parents need to pay special attention to as they observe their children after they become infected with the virus. They need to pay attention to some prodromal symptoms that come before the onset of a severe infection, including a temperature greater than 41 degrees. We know that a fever can become a high fever. However, if a temperature is higher than 41, it often indicates that the central nervous system has become dysfunctional, and that is why the temperature is that high, so parents should be vigilant because encephalitis could be setting in. Other symptoms include continuous drowsiness, continuous vomiting, convulsions, and loss of consciousness. Kids may even develop some hallucinations. In addition, persistent headaches, muscle convulsions, and involuntary spasms, particularly in the legs, which can cause an unsteady gait, are the other symptoms. If these eight prodromal symptoms develop, parents should immediately take their kids to get a medical evaluation.

The total number of local COVID cases dropped slightly on Sunday compared to the day before, with more than 79,000 reported across Taiwan. Nonetheless, the numbers of local cases have still been hovering between 80,000 to more than 90,000 for five consecutive days. Health minister Chen Shih-chung says Taiwan has already reached a plateau, but whether case numbers have already peaked remains to be seen. CECC spokesman Chuang Jen-hsiang says cases will peak when the daily number reaches around 100,000, and that the outbreak may last until the end of July before the numbers gradually drop off to low figures.