The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday distributed 400,000 rapid test kits to areas of Taiwan with the greatest risk of infection, as it reported 1,210 new domestic and 93 imported cases.
Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan and Hualien County yesterday each received 100,000 at-home test kits, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC.
At this time, members of the public do not need to stock up on rapid test kits, as the price is to fall after a real-name rationing system is implemented, he added.
Photo courtesy of the Central Epidemic Command Center
Asked whether more cities and counties would allow those who have asymptomatic or mild COVID-19 cases to isolate at home, Chen said that the six special municipalities — Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung — have applied to do that, as well as Keelung, and Yilan and Hualien counties.
New Taipei City had the highest number of new domestic cases, with 410, followed by Taipei with 201, Taoyuan with 180, Hualien County with 119, Keelung with 107, Yilan County with 52 and Kaohsiung with 35, center data showed.
Asked whether the infection rate might surpass 20 to 30 percent, with domestic cases exceeding 1 million, Chen estimated Taiwan’s infection rate to be about 15 percent.
The infection rate is about 16 percent in Hong Kong and New Zealand, 20 percent in Australia and Singapore, 25 percent in the US, 30 percent in South Korea, 42 percent in France and 50 percent in Denmark, Chen said.
If the infection rate was 20 to 30 percent in Taiwan, there would be about 4.6 million to 6.9 million people infected with COVID-19, he added.
“With Taiwan’s experience in disease prevention, an infection rate of about 15 percent is more likely,” Chen said, adding that the center would use that figure for planning purposes.
“However, we will also need to closely monitor the actual situation over the next 15 days ... to see whether the number of local infections grows exponentially, but I believe we will be extra cautious,” he said.
If the infection rate is about 15 percent, an estimated 3.45 million people in Taiwan might become infected.
Meanwhile, seven new moderate cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed, Chen said, adding that as of Saturday, asymptomatic and mild cases accounted for 99.49 percent (8,902 cases) of domestic cases reported this year (8,948 cases).
Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division, said that none of the seven moderate cases had been admitted to intensive care, but all of them had blood oxygen saturation levels of less than 94 percent and a few of them had pneumonia.
The center and pediatricians of the Taiwan Pediatric Association had discussed the warning signs and symptoms of severe COVID-19 in children, including recommendations to make to parents, Lo said.
Case classification criteria and procedures would be discussed with local health departments on Wednesday, he added.
Parents should avoid sharing meals and limit direct contact with uninfected children in home isolation to reduce the risk of infection, he said, adding that frequent and thorough disinfection of shared spaces would also reduce the risk.
UNDER WATCH: Taiwan will have to establish a standardized nucleic acid testing method to identify the virus and monitor its spread, the CDC said The Langya henipavirus, which can be transmitted from animals to humans, has been discovered in China, with 35 human infections reported so far, Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said, adding that the nation would establish a nucleic acid testing method to identify the virus. A study titled “A Zoonotic Henipavirus in Febrile Patients in China” that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday said that a new henipavirus associated with a fever-causing human illness was identified in China. The study said an investigation identified 35 patients with acute infection of the Langya henipavirus in China’s Shandong
MISSILE PATHS: Certain information on the Chinese missile fire was not disclosed to maintain secrecy over military intelligence-gathering capabilities, the MND said Military experts yesterday speculated on the implication of the government’s tight-lipped response and the lack of air-raid sirens during the first day of China’s military drills the previous day. On Thursday, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched 11 Dongfeng-series ballistic missiles into waters north, east and south of Taiwan, a day after US House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s departure from the country, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. The Japanese Ministry of Defense said that China fired nine missiles toward Taiwan, including four that flew over Taiwan proper. However, China’s exhibition of force failed to terrorize the local populace, because
If any war were to break out between the US and China, one trigger might be the increasingly frequent fighter jet encounters near Taiwan. Almost every day, Taiwanese fighter pilots hop in their US-made F-16s to intercept Chinese warplanes screaming past their territory. The encounters probe the nation’s defenses and force the pilots on both sides to avoid mistakes that could lead to a crisis that spins out of control. “I didn’t know whether they would fire at me,” said retired colonel Mountain Wang, recounting a tense five-minute confrontation he had with Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) jets more than a decade
INCREASINGLY EMBOLDENED: China can no longer be dismissed as inexperienced, demonstrating an ability to coordinate land and sea missile systems, an expert said Beijing’s largest-ever exercises around Taiwan have offered essential clues into its plans for a grueling blockade in the event of an attack on Taiwan, and revealed an increasingly emboldened Chinese military, experts said. The visit to Taiwan by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi — second in line to the presidency — sparked outrage from Beijing, which launched vast military maneuvers around the nation, even at the risk of partially exposing its plans to the US and its Asian allies. Mobilizing fighter planes, helicopters and warships, the drills aim to simulate a blockade of Taiwan and include practicing an “attack on
RSS