Taipei: Taiwan recorded 14 COVID-19 deaths and 72 cases involving severe complications between Aug. 4 and 10, the highest weekly total during the current domestic COVID-19 wave, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Tuesday. At a regular news briefing, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin highlighted the ongoing challenges faced by the health system in managing the surge.
According to Focus Taiwan, since October last year, Taiwan has recorded 337 domestic COVID-19 cases involving severe complications, including 42 deaths. The CDC reported a significant increase in COVID-19-related outpatient and emergency room visits, with 24,645 visits recorded between Aug. 2 and 8, marking a 27.6 percent rise from the previous week. While the number of visits has continued to climb, the rate of increase has slowed compared to previous weeks.
The CDC has revised its estimate for maximum weekly outpatient and emergency room visits to 27,000, down from an earlier projection of 51,000 made in late July. The current wave of outbreaks is expected to peak between mid-August and the end of August. Lee noted that of the 337 severe cases recorded since October, a significant majority involved older adults and those with underlying chronic conditions who had not received this season's COVID-19 vaccine.
In response to the rising cases, the CDC announced that about 140,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine remain in storage. Of these, 37,000 doses currently held by the CDC are set to expire on Sept. 9 and will be distributed to local governments on Thursday after being removed from cold storage.
Globally, Lee pointed out an increasing COVID-19 positivity rate, particularly in Europe and Africa, while the Western Pacific region has remained stable. COVID-19 infections have risen in countries such as China, Thailand, South Korea, the United States, and Japan, but have declined in Hong Kong. The dominant COVID-19 strains globally are NB.1.8.1, XFG, and JN.1, while PQ.16.1.1 is most prevalent in Taiwan, according to the CDC.