Taiwan sees 11,353 new COVID-19 cases in one day; its largest outbreak to date – newsdubai

Taiwan, which had lived largely free of COVID-19, is now facing its worst outbreak since the start of the pandemic with over 11,000 new cases reported on Thursday.

Cases have been on the rise since the end of March. In April, the island’s central authorities announced that they would no longer maintain a “zero-COVID” policy like the Chinese government, in which they would centrally quarantine positive cases.

Instead, the government asks people to quarantine at home if they test positive, unless they show moderate to severe symptoms.

Chen Shih-chung, the island’s health minister, announced on Thursday that they had found 11,353 new cases along with two deaths. During the daily press briefing held by the Central Epidemic Command Center, he said that 99.7% of the cases in the current outbreak either had no symptoms or had mild symptoms.

Most of Taiwan’s 858 COVID-19 deaths came from the summer of 2021. Until this month, it had been the island’s only major outbreak of the pandemic.

Taiwan has been relatively lucky throughout the pandemic, but has also maintained strict border controls with a two-week quarantine on arrival required for all visitors.

Domestically, it is universal to wear a mask both outdoors and indoors. Masks are mandatory on public transport and in places like shops and theaters.

In the last few weeks, as cases have increased, people have been trying to buy quick tests with stores selling out in a few hours. Convenience stores throughout Taipei were unsure where their next delivery would come from.

Difficulties in buying rapid tests are probably due in part to the government’s thought throughout the pandemic that there are few benefits to mass testing. The health minister said last year that public funds and medicines could be better used elsewhere.

That changed with last year’s outbreak.

The central government said this month that it would work with Taiwanese companies that manufacture tests to make sure everyone would have access. A system was rolled out Thursday that limits each person to purchasing a package of five tests per day. trip. Each purchase must be linked to a person’s national ID to ensure that there is no inventory build-up.

Experts are concerned about the 5 million people who have not been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Those who did not complete a full vaccination course were four times more likely to have moderate or severe symptoms compared to those who were given a booster, said Ho Mei-Shang, a vaccine expert in Taiwan who has also worked for the U.S. centers. for Disease Control and Prevention, according to the Central News Agency.

Most vulnerable in Taiwan’s outbreak this time are children and the elderly. The vaccination rate among people over 75 is 72.5%. But only 59.1% in the same age group got a booster.

The youngest in society is also not protected. Some schools have switched back to distance learning based on the number of positive cases each school reports. The island opens up for vaccine shots for children ages 6-11 next week.

A 2-year-old boy in New Taipei City died last week, the youngest victim of COVID-19 in Taiwan. His condition deteriorated rapidly after being tested positive in a rare case.

Still, officials urged the public not to panic, saying Taiwan was better prepared with vaccines and ways to ensure that moderate and severe cases would receive immediate attention.

“We want to tell the public, from the medical world, rest assured,” said Chiu Tai-yuan, a lawmaker who also heads the Taiwan Medical Association. “Last year’s outbreak is not like the one we are facing today.”