The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported a record single-day high of 744 local COVID-19 infections and 189 imported cases, and said that a Taiwan-developed traditional herbal formula — Taiwan Chingguan Yihau (NRICM101) — would be offered to people with mild symptoms who apply for it.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that the most domestic cases were reported in New Taipei City (264 cases), followed by Taipei (141 cases), Taoyuan (65 cases), Keelung (56 cases), Kaohsiung (50 cases), Hualien County (48 cases), Taichung (23 cases), Hsinchu County (23 cases), and one to 14 cases in 11 other cities and counties.
The positivity rate of inbound travelers was also relatively high at 8.09 percent on Tuesday, with 189 new imported cases confirmed yesterday, 95 of whom tested positive on arrival and 94 tested positive during isolation, he told the CECC’s daily news conference in Taipei.
Photo: CNA
Three people in their 80s were reported to have moderate COVID-19 symptoms yesterday, although 99.64 percent of the 4,932 local infections reported this year as of Tuesday were asymptomatic or had only mild symptoms, he said.
Earlier, reporters asked Chen as he entered the legislature for a meeting whether the daily local case count might exceed 10,000.
Chen said it is possible, but as Taiwan is still at the initial stage of a local outbreak, the situation needs to be monitored.
Photo courtesy of the Hualien County Environmental Protection Bureau via CNA
Asked after the meeting whether rules allowing people who have no or mild symptoms to quarantine at home might take effect next week, Chen said that the number of local cases are certain to increase, but it is uncertain when it will peak.
The center would discuss details of changes to quarantine rules with local governments today and encourage them to start pilot programs soon, he added.
The center has approved prescribing NRICM101, a herbal formula, to people with COVID-19 who are quarantined at home.
Photo: CNA
People can obtain the product through a telemedicine appointment with a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine or get more information from a local association, Chen said.
Su Yi-chang (蘇奕彰), director of the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s National Research of Chinese Medicine, said that eight pharmaceutical companies have obtained permits to manufacture NRICM101 and their products have been exported to more than 50 countries.
The products are classified as supplements or over-the-counter drugs in some countries, but they are prescription drugs in Taiwan, Su said, adding that the formula can be prescribed for people with COVID-19 who do not require oxygen therapy.
A domestic study at nine hospitals last year showed that people who took the product had lower risk of developing severe illness, Su said.
Studies in other countries suggest that the therapeutic effect of the product seems to be similar when used against multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2.
In addition, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), the CECC’s spokesman, said that a batch of 2,016 courses of molnupiravir, an oral antiviral treatment for COVID-19 developed by US drugmaker Merck, arrived in Taiwan yesterday morning.
The 5,000 courses of molnupiravir that the government purchased have all arrived, Chuang said.
Meanwhile, as the CECC has guaranteed accessibility to at-home COVID-19 antigen rapid tests, Chen said that people would soon be able to obtain the kits in three ways: at stores, where they can be bought now; through a government program that would target high-risk areas or facilities; and via a system similar to the real-name mask purchasing system.
More details would be announced soon, he added.
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