Weekly hospital visits for COVID-19 surged by 88 percent last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that the NB.1.8.1 subvariant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has become the dominant strain spreading domestically.
Hospitals reported 19,097 visits for COVID-19, as weekly cases have increased for five consecutive weeks, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said.
Of the 93 severe COVID-19 cases confirmed last week, 88.2 percent were not vaccinated with the JN.1-adapted COVID-19 vaccine, he said, adding that four people died.
Photo: CNA
Among the 330 severe COVID-19 cases reported this year, as of Monday, 74.2 percent were people aged 65 or older, 84 percent had underlying health conditions and 90 percent did not get the JN.1-adapted vaccine, Gou said.
Virus surveillance data from the past four weeks showed that the NB.1.8.1 subvariant has become the dominant strain locally, followed by the XEC and LP.8.1 subvariants, he said.
Aside from the Americas, global test positivity rates for the SARS-CoV-2 virus have been increasing, with the LP.8.1 subvariant being reported as the dominant strain globally, he said.
The youngest severe case last week was a 10-month-old girl who did not have underlying health issues, but was also not vaccinated, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said.
She first had cold-like symptoms, then developed a loss of appetite, shortness of breath and croup, Lin said.
The girl has been hospitalized in an intensive care unit for four days and is still undergoing treatment, he added.
Local COVID-19 infections are rapidly increasing, with weekly hospital visits and severe cases reaching the highest this year, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said.
“We estimate that the peak will be in mid or late June,” he said. “Estimated hospital visits during the peak period are projected to be between 55,000 and 56,000 per week.”
The estimated peak weekly visits are only about half the number of the peak period during the previous wave of infections in summer last year, but people should still not let their guard down, Lo said.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the CDC have also made preparations in response to the growing infections, including making sure there are enough vaccines, medication and test kits, he said.
More than 17,000 people got vaccinated against COVID-19 last week, the highest weekly number in three months, and several local health departments have reported increased vaccine demand, he said.
Although 31,000 doses have been distributed this week, the CDC plans to distribute more on Friday, he said, adding that about 3.1 million doses are available.
The CDC also secured medications, including Remdesivir, Paxlovid and Molnupiravir, for the estimated usage of between five months to a year, while it also has open-ended contracts to import more if needed, Lo said.
The Food and Drug Administration last week asked domestic manufacturers to increase production of rapid test kits for at-home and hospital use, and it also contacted the nation’s four major convenience store chains and pharmacy chains to make test kits more accessible for purchase, he said.
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
South Korea is planning to revise its controversial electronic arrival card, a step Taiwanese officials said prompted them to hold off on planned retaliatory measures, a South Korean media report said yesterday. A Yonhap News Agency report said that the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to remove the “previous departure place” and “next destination” fields from its e-arrival card system. The plan, reached after interagency consultations, is under review and aims to simplify entry procedures and align the electronic form with the paper version, a South Korean ministry official said. The fields — which appeared only on the electronic form
RSS