A new wave of infections of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 might be incoming, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday said, as it reported 14,162 new local COVID-19 cases, a 37 percent increase compared with Monday last week.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩) said 72 imported COVID-19 cases and 14 deaths were confirmed yesterday.
Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝), who heads the CECC, said that 120,755 new local cases were confirmed last week, a 12.6 percent increase over the previous week.
Photo: CNA
However, daily cases in the past few days have increased by 20 to 30 percent compared with the previous week, showing that cases were not just increasing, but increasing faster, he said.
“We believe another wave of infections will occur,” he said.
“Our preliminary projection is that the average daily local cases in the peak week of [the wave] would be about 30,000 local cases per day,” Wang said, adding that the peak would likely be in early February, and would be Taiwan’s third wave of Omicron infections.
Photo courtesy of CECC
As many places in Taipei were crowded at the weekend due to Christmas celebrations, New Year’s Eve events this weekend would likely also be packed, he said.
The center urges people to wear a mask when attending crowded events in which maintaining social distancing is difficult, avoid eating and drinking, and to bring hand sanitizer, he said.
People who have a fever, respiratory symptoms, diarrhea, or loss of taste or smell should avoid attending New Year’s Eve events, he said.
People practicing self-health management or self-disease prevention should test negative for COVID-19 before attending, while unvaccinated children and the elderly are also advised not to attend.
CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said that of the sequenced local cases last week, 82 percent had the Omicron BA.5 subvariant, indicating that it is still the dominant strain circulating in Taiwan, while 12 percent had BA.2.75.
Of the imported cases, 37 percent had BA.5, 32 percent BA.2.75, 15 percent BQ.1 and 8 percent each BF.7 and XBB, he said.
As people are worried about new strains imported from China, Lo said the seven sequenced cases from China last week were two people infected with BF.7 and five with BA.5, which is similar to the proportions in China.
He said the CECC would continue to monitor for new strains.
Regarding panic buying of over-the-counter fever medicine, likely influenced by the COVID-19 surge in China, Wang said that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday afternoon called a meeting with local drugmakers authorized to produce acetaminophen drugs for pain and fever relief, to ascertain current stocks of the drugs and the ingredient supply for the next few months.
He said the center would first ensure healthcare facilities have enough acetaminophen, as people usually seek medical attention when feeling ill, and hopefully if supplies of the drug remain sufficient, the government would not need to impose restrictions or institute a real-name-based rationing scheme for buying the drug.
However, usually a wave of infections lasts about three to four months, so the discussions at the FDA meeting must also consider a possible supply shortage in the upcoming months, he said.
Lo said there are still about 290,000 courses of the oral anti-viral Paxlovid, which is expected to last 152 days, and about 81,000 courses of molnupiravir, expected to last 232 days.
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