COVID-19 infections have climbed for three consecutive weeks and are likely to reach another peak between next month and June, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
Weekly hospital visits for the disease increased by 19 percent from the previous week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said.
From Tuesday last week to yesterday, 21 cases of severe COVID-19 and seven deaths were confirmed, and from Sept. 1 last year to yesterday, there were 600 cases and 129 deaths, he said.
Photo courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control
From Oct. 1 last year to yesterday, 95.9 percent of the severe cases and 96.7 percent of the deaths did not get the latest vaccine, he added.
SARS-CoV-2 virus surveillance data from the past four weeks show that the XEC subvariant was the dominant strain among local cases, accounting for 54 percent, while the XDV.1 subvariant was the dominant variant among imported cases, accounting for 50 percent, Guo said.
CDC physician Lee Tsung-han (李宗翰) cited as an example of a severe case a young woman in her 20s residing in northern Taiwan who did not have underlying health conditions and who had received her last COVID-19 shot in 2022.
The woman had a fever for two days and developed soreness in the back and a cold sweat, Lee said.
She sought treatment at an emergency room, and was found to have a high white blood cell count and lower right lobe pneumonia, he said.
She tested positive for COVID-19, but negative for influenza, he said.
She also had an increased heartrate and an elevated creatine kinase level, so the doctors suspected she might have COVID-19 with pneumonia and myocarditis, Lee said, adding that she is still being treated in an intensive care unit.
CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said that since the sixth wave of COVID-19 infections, mainly the Omicron variant, ended in August last year, COVID-19 activity remained low in the past eight months.
“However, this month, we have observed that hospital visits for COVID-19 have climbed steadily for three consecutive weeks, and severe cases and deaths are also increasing,” he said.
Hospital visits, severe cases and deaths last week all hit their highest levels this year, he said.
The CDC has determined that COVID-19 activity is rising, and is likely to reach its peak between next month and June, but it is hard to predict how high the case numbers would be at its peak, he said.
Lo advised the public to get vaccinated for better protection, and take a COVID-19 test if they develop suspected symptoms and tell a doctor the results when they seek medical attention.
There are still more than 3 million doses of government-funded COVID-19 vaccines, and at-home rapid COVID-19 test kits can be bought at many pharmacies, convenience stores, supermarkets and other retailers, Lo said, adding that the government has prepared more than a year’s supply of COVID-19 medications based on current trends.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
RSS