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COVID-19 cases in Taiwan see moderate rise over past 3 weeks: Official

ROC Central News Agency

05/02/2023 09:18 PM

Taipei, May 2 (CNA) The number of reported serious COVID-19 infection cases across Taiwan has increased slightly over the past three weeks, but there is unlikely to be any resurgence in the pandemic, a senior official with the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Tuesday.

Taiwan reported a daily average of 114 moderate and severe COVID-19 cases from April 26-May 2, representing a slight increase in daily cases compared with the 98 recorded the previous week April 19-25, while the daily number of fatalities remained unchanged at 12 per day on average, according to CDC data.

Of the dead, 99 percent had chronic diseases and 73 percent had not received at least three vaccine doses, while 92 percent were in their 60s or above, the data showed.

CDC Deputy Director General Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) said that while the number of infections has increased slightly over the past three weeks, that trend is likely to continue in May and June.

However, he noted that the severity of the outbreak in Taiwan will not be comparable to earlier in the pandemic, Lo said.

The outbreak in Taiwan is similar to that in neighboring countries where there has been no "excessive" surge in reported cases, he explained.

CDC official Kuo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said the COVID-19 outbreak remains but at a relatively lower level than previously. The CDC will continue to monitor the situation as reports show cases slightly increasing, he added.

The CDC's assessment was made based on several indexes, including the reported numbers, the number of prescriptions, and positivity rates at facilities for individuals with physical or mental disabilities.

The agency continues to track COVID-19 and now provides updates at its regular briefing every Tuesday, after the Central Epidemic Command Center was disbanded on May 1 following the legal downgrading of COVID-19 to that of a less serious disease.

(By Chen Chieh-ling and Chao Yen-hsiang)

Enditem/AW