COVID-19 cases have risen slightly in the past three weeks and five cases of the new XBB.1.16 strain were detected last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said that the average number of daily new moderate to severe COVID-19 cases reported last week was 114, slightly higher than the average of 98 per day in the week before.
Daily new cases have been increasing slightly for the past three weeks, Guo said.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
Prescriptions for oral anti-viral drugs to treat COVID-19 have also increased in the past three weeks, as has the positivity rate from testing at residential care facilities, he said.
Genome sequencing of 77 local cases last week showed that Omicron BA.2.75 is still the dominant strain, accounting for 65 percent of cases, followed by Omicron XBB, accounting for 26 percent, he said.
Five local cases with the new Omicron XBB.1.16 subvariant, also known as Arcturus, were identified last week, CDC data showed.
In related news, 58,588 hospital visits for flu-like illnesses were reported last week, with cases trending upward in the past few weeks, Guo said, adding that 13 new cases of serious flu complications were confirmed last week, including seven people with influenza H3N2 and six with H1N1.
Since the flu season began on Oct. 1 last year, 127 cases of serious flu complications have been reported, including 91 with H3N2, with 20 among them having died, he said.
CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said that flu cases and serious complications continue to rise gradually, and as the mask mandate implemented for the COVID-19 pandemic has been almost completely lifted, people face greater risk of exposure to infectious respiratory diseases.
Elderly people and those with underlying health conditions should wear a mask in crowded venues, Lo said.
People with respiratory symptoms should wear a mask outdoors to reduce the risk of spreading droplets, he said.
As for mpox infections, 12 new local cases were confirmed last week, all of them men aged 20 to 50, Guo added.
The number of enterovirus infections are rapidly increasing, reaching 10,066 hospital visits last week, Guo said, adding that enterovirus infections next week are expected to cross the threshold of 11,000 per week to be deemed an epidemic.
Laboratory data showed that the coxsackie virus A group is the most common type circulating in local communities, but a new mild case of enterovirus 71 was reported last week, he said, adding that a serious complication from echovirus 21 infection was confirmed in a one-year-old boy last week.
Common early symptoms of enterovirus infection are mouth blisters, and hand, foot and mouth disease, as well as fever, and a rash or blisters on the hands and feet, Guo said, adding that severe complications can include meningitis, encephalitis, sepsis and myocarditis.
Theaters and institutions in Taiwan have received 28 threatening e-mails, including bomb threats, since a documentary critical of China began being screened across the nation last month, the National Security Bureau said yesterday. The actions are part of China’s attempts to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty, it said. State Organs (國有器官) documents allegations that Chinese government officials engage in organ harvesting and other illegal activities. From last month to Friday last week, 28 incidents have been reported of theaters or institutions receiving threats, including bomb and shooting threats, if they did not stop showing the documentary, the bureau said. Although the threats were not carried out,
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: China continues to build up its military capacity while regularly deploying jets and warships around Taiwan, with the latest balloon spotted on Sunday The US is drawing up contingency plans for military deployments in Japan and the Philippines in case of a Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. They would be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late on Sunday, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations. A US Marine Corps regiment that possesses High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — a light multiple rocket launcher — would be deployed along the Nansei Island chain stretching from Kyushu to Yonaguni near Taiwan, Kyodo said. According to US military guidelines for dispatching marines in small formations to several locations,
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday confirmed that Chinese students visiting Taiwan at the invitation of the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation were almost all affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). During yesterday’s meeting convened by the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) asked whether the visit was a way to spread China’s so-called “united front” rhetoric, to which MAC Deputy Ministry Shen You-chung (沈有忠) responded with the CCP comment. The MAC noticed that the Chinese individuals visiting Taiwan, including those in sports, education, or religion, have had increasingly impressive backgrounds, demonstrating that the
As Taiwan celebrated its baseball team’s victory in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12 on Sunday, how politicians referred to the team in their congratulatory messages reflected the nation’s political divide. Taiwan, competing under the name Chinese Taipei (中華台北隊), made history with its first-ever Premier12 championship after beating Japan 4-0 at the Tokyo Dome. Right after the game, President William Lai (賴清德) congratulated the team via a post on his Facebook page. Besides the players, Lai also lauded the team’s coaching and medical staff, and the fans cheering for them in Tokyo or watching the live broadcast, saying that “every
RSS