The daily reported number of moderate to severe cases of COVID-19 increased 33 percent last week from a week earlier, indicating a fourth wave of local Omicron infections, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said the average daily number of moderate to severe case last week was 155, up from 117 the previous week.
Prescriptions for oral anti-viral drugs to treat the disease also rose, while the average positivity rate from tests at residential care facilities increased to 1.3 percent last week, he said.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
Genomic sequencing data showed that Omicron XBB viral strains have replaced Omicron BA.2.75 to become the dominant variant of SARS-CoV-2 in Taiwan, with 54 percent of local cases last week being Omicron XBB, he said.
CDC Deputy Director-General and spokesman Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said the numbers indicate that COVID-19 cases are rising.
These Omicron infections can be considered the fourth COVID-19 wave in the nation, Lo said.
People with a high risk of serious illness after infection are advised to see a doctor and ask for an oral anti-viral drug prescription if they test positive for COVID-19, and get immediate medical attention if they develop signs of severe complications, he said.
As the Central Epidemic Command Center was disbanded two weeks ago and the WHO on May 5 ended its Public Health Emergency of International Concern for COVID-19, many countries no longer require vaccination certificates, so the digital certificates showing vaccination status, test results and isolation orders would end on May 31. Lo said.
People can apply for the certificates at https://gov.tw/8ft until midnight on May 30, he said.
Meanwhile, the flu accounted for 45.6 percent of respiratory viruses identified at contracted labs and there were 67,733 hospital visits for flu-like illnesses last week, Guo said, adding that the upward trend seems to be continuing.
Fourteen new cases of serious flu complications and two flu-related deaths were confirmed last week, with all of them unvaccinated this flu season, he said, adding that 11 of those with severe symptoms and the two who died had the influenza A (H1N1) virus, while the other three had influenza A (H3N2).
CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said the two people who died were a woman in her 70s in eastern Taiwan, who had several underlying health problems and died of pneumonia, and a five-year-old boy in northern Taiwan, who died of encephalitis.
The boy had a fever, coughing and a runny nose early this month and received medication at a clinic, but was lethargic, vomiting and had diarrhea the next day, Lin said.
He tested positive for H1N1, Lin said, adding that the child was admitted to an emergency room as his symptoms rapidly worsened, including altered consciousness and an unsteady gait.
The boy was diagnosed with encephalitis from a flu infection and given anti-viral medication, but his heart stopped the second day he was in hospital and three days after the onset of symptoms.
There were 11,916 hospital visits for enterovirus infections last week, including a five-year-old with a mild case of enterovirus 71, Gou said, adding that the upward trend of new cases is continuing.
Twelve new local cases of mpox were confirmed last week among men aged 20 to 40, Lo said, adding that all of them were not vaccinated against the disease.
The third phase of mpox vaccination began yesterday, he added.
There are 79 clinics and hospitals where people can directly book a vaccine appointment, as the online willingness registration platform is no longer in use, he said.
Members of high-risk groups who are eligible for the mpox vaccine are advised to get it as soon as possible, and about 27,000 people who have had a first dose can book an appointment for a second dose, as long as it has been at least 28 days since their first, Lo said.
The first dose can provide 40 to 80 percent protection after 14 days and the second dose can increase that protection to about 90 percent, he said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS