Taipei, June 12 (CNA) Taiwan on Saturday reported 251 new cases of COVID-19, all but one of which was domestically transmitted, as well as 26 deaths from the disease, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

Health Minister Chen Shih-chung, who also heads the CECC, said the number of new cases reported remains at a similar level to that seen a day earlier, showing no significant change.

Chen repeated a call for people to stay alert and not to travel during the Dragon Boat Festival long weekend holiday, which starts Saturday.

New Taipei City reported 133 of the new domestic cases, the highest number, followed by Taipei City with 65 and Keelung City with 16.

Taoyuan City reported 13, Miaoli County nine, Hualien County three, while two each were reported in Hsinchu and Taichung cities, as well as Yilan and Changhua counties.

Kaohsiung City, Yunlin and Hsinchu counties each reported one case, according to the CECC.

The new cases bring the total number in the country to 12,746, of which over 11,000 are domestic infections recorded since May 15, the first day the country reported over 100 cases since the outbreak began in early 2020.

The 26 fatalities were 17 men and nine women, aged 40 to 110, who passed away between June 4 and June 11, the CECC said.

The CECC said that among the 52 cases outside Taipei and New Taipei, seven had an unknown source of infection.

Meanwhile, the one imported case involved a Taiwanese national in her 40s, who returned from China on May 30.

The number of deaths from COVID-19 in Taiwan has now risen to 411, including 399 since May 15.