The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported 62,755 hospital visits for COVID-19 and 132 hospitalized cases for last week, the highest weekly numbers this year.
Hospital visits for COVID-19 increased 49 percent last week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said.
A total of 132 people were hospitalized from Tuesday last week to Monday, and 86.4 percent of them had not got the JN.1-adapted vaccine, Guo said.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
Of the 564 severe cases of COVID-19 this year, 75.7 percent are people aged 65 or older, 84.8 percent had underlying health conditions and 89 percent were not up to date on vaccines, he added.
The youngest hospitalized case last week was a five-month-old child, who did not have any underlying health conditions and was not old enough to get vaccinated, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said.
The child was treated at a clinic for cold-like symptoms and later hospitalized after pulmonary infiltrates were observed on a chest X-ray, Lin said.
Fifteen deaths were reported in the past seven days, and they were aged 60 to 100, Guo said.
COVID-19 variant surveillance data show that NB.1.8.1 accounted for most local and imported cases in the past four weeks, he said.
As for COVID-19 activity in nearby countries, Guo said the number of cases in Malaysia and Singapore increased in the past few weeks, while it has slightly reduced in Hong Kong despite remaining high and slightly increased in Australia.
CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said the centers’ projection of the domestic COVID-19 activity remains the same.
The current wave of infections is expected to peak late this month or early next month, with an estimated more than 200,000 hospital visits per week during the peak period, Lo said.
However, the slightly lower increase (49 percent) in weekly hospital visits last week could be because many clinics and hospitals were closed during the Dragon Boat Festival weekend, he said, adding that there could be a significant increase this week.
“This week is critical,” he said.
If the rate of hospital visits remains lower this week, the peak of the wave might not be as high as estimated, and the burden on the healthcare system would also be lighter than expected, he said.
The CDC encourages people to get vaccinated and wear masks in high-risk environments, he added.
Elderly people, pregnant women and those with underlying health conditions should do a rapid COVID-19 test when they develop respiratory symptoms, and seek medical care as soon as possible if they test positive to receive antiviral drugs, he said.
People who are not at high risk of developing severe complications from infection should also wear a mask in crowded places and seek medical attention at a clinic when they develop mild respiratory symptoms, he added.
Meanwhile, the CDC said 69 imported dengue fever cases have been reported this year as of Monday, which is the second-highest number in the same period in six years.
People should eliminate mosquito breeding sites to prevent dengue fever, especially during the plum rain season, it said.
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