The Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 of SARS-CoV-2 could cause a new wave of local infections next month or in September, newly appointed Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) head Victor Wang (王必勝) said yesterday.
Wang made the prediction in response to media queries as the center reported 17,549 local and 454 imported COVID-19 cases, as well as 48 deaths.
Forty-six cases of the two new subvariants — 40 BA.5 and six BA.4 — were confirmed last week, said Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy chief of the CECC’s medical response division.
Photo courtesy of the CECC
Among the imported cases who underwent genome sequencing, 86.4 percent were infected with the subvariants — 74.5 percent with BA.5 and 11.8 percent with BA.4, showing that BA.5 is becoming a dominant strain, he said.
Lo said the center has revised the ratio of local cases to imported cases slated for genome sequencing to 7:3 to better detect new subvariants spreading in local communities.
CDC Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩), head of the CECC’s disease surveillance division, said the high number of imported cases reported yesterday was due to a data revision error that occurred while the nation’s quarantine policy was being modified on Thursday, which led to some cases being excluded from the data.
Cases that were excluded over the past three days have been added to the total number of imported cases, he said.
The cases have been placed in isolation, he added.
During the news conference, former minister of health and welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who headed the CECC for 911 days since Jan. 23, 2020, presented Wang with the vest of the CECC head as he symbolically handed over his post.
Chen said CECC division heads, including Wang, have held meetings nearly every day since the pandemic began, becoming an experienced team that works well together.
Wang said Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥), who was CECC deputy head, has also resigned from his post, and the center plans to announce his replacement as soon as a candidate is approved by the Executive Yuan.
Wang said the CECC’s duties include monitoring the global pandemic situation; reviewing and revising Taiwan’s COVID-19 restrictions, including border measures, quarantine policy and non-pharmaceutical interventions; and administering vaccines, including increasing booster coverage, and securing next-generation vaccines.
The center is also preparing disease prevention resources; developing advanced measures to better protect high-risk groups, such as elderly people and children; improving its information systems; and enhancing communication channels with local governments, he said.
“The CECC will continue to do its job of preventing disease,” he said. “Our main goal is to allow people to fully return to their normal lives.”
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS