The number of COVID-19, influenza and enterovirus cases has increased in the past few weeks, the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) weekly disease surveillance data showed, and doctors are urging people to take preventive measures.
As COVID-19 was reclassified as a Category 4 notifiable communicable disease on May 1, only hospitalized moderate-to-severe cases are reported. The average daily figure has nearly doubled in the past month, from 114 cases per day in the final week of April to 155 in the second week of last month and 209 in the final week.
While mild cases are no longer required to be reported by doctors, the number of antiviral drug prescriptions for more vulnerable cases increased from an average of 9,938 courses in the final week of April to 29,095 in the last week of last month, and the CDC on Tuesday said there are an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 new infections per day.
The CDC’s genomic surveillance data suggest that the dominant variant of SARS-CoV-2 circulating locally has shifted from Omicron BA.2.75, which accounted for about 65 percent of local cases in the final week of April, to Omicron XBB, which accounted for about 59 percent of local cases in the last week of last month.
Many doctors reported that the majority of COVID-19 cases they have treated recently are people who have caught it for the first time. The new variant is immune-evasive and more transmissible, more masking rules have been lifted and people are gathering more, which all contribute to the risk of contracting the disease.
CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) on Tuesday said the estimated number of reinfections has increased to about 15 to 20 percent, meaning not only those who have never been infected are at risk.
Moreover, the flu season in Taiwan is typically from October to March, peaking from December to February, but the number of hospital visits for flu-like illnesses has rapidly increased from 58,588 in the last week of April to 63,485 in the first week of last month and 75,897 in the final week.
As of Saturday last week, 219 cases of severe flu complications, including 33 deaths, had been confirmed, in stark contrast to the previous two flu seasons: There were two severe flu cases, including one death, in the 2020-2021 flu season, and no cases in 2021-2022.
CDC genomic surveillance data showed that influenza A (H3N2) and influenza A (H1N1) became the two dominant variants in the final week of last month. Lo on Tuesday said that flu cases are expected to continue rising over the next two weeks.
As for enterovirus infections, the number of hospital visits exceeded the epidemic threshold of 11,000 visits per week in the first week of last month, increasing to 12,924 in the final week.
Government data from Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand showed that the number of enterovirus cases in the final week of last month was higher than the same week in the past two to four years, and that case numbers appear to be growing.
Some doctors have said the rise in infections is because of a phenomenon called “immunity debt” — people, especially children, having weakened immune systems due to mask wearing and COVID-19 preventive measures — but that has yet to be proven.
However, as the viruses are spreading and most public health measures have been removed, the CDC and doctors are urging people to practice preventive measures — such as frequently washing hands with soap and wearing a mask in crowded and high-risk settings, while saying that people who are more vulnerable to severe illness should get their booster shots to reduce the risk of serious complications.
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