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Coronavirus cases to peak in 7 days
Health Minister Chen Shih-chung says coronavirus infections will likely peak in the next seven days. The statement comes as daily case numbers hit a new single-day high of 85,310 on Wednesday.
According to the health minister, the daily case load is projected to continue moving higher for a while and based on the experience of other countries, the figure will be volatile, partly because of the number of tests taken and processed per day.
Chen says the upward trend will continue because new daily cases in central and southern Taiwan have been rising, in line with what has happened in the north, and more PCR tests are now being taken in the centre and south.
The health minister also says authorities can currently process up to 220,000 PCR tests per day through labs islandwide.
Yesterday’s Covid-19 cases was the highest count of new infections since the Covid outbreak began two years ago. 41 deaths were also reported, with ages ranging from under five years to over 90. Most of the fatalities suffered from pre-existing conditions including diabetes and high blood pressure.
Newly reported cases in New Taipei City were almost double those of other areas in Taiwan. New Taipei registered more than 27,000, while Taipei saw just over 12,000 cases. 46 cases were imported, with 34 testing positive upon arrival. 153 of the cases were classified as moderate Covid, while 30 were described as severe. The overall serious infection rate remains at 0.2% with nearly 99.8% of those infected seen as mild or asymptomatic cases.
In other Covid news, the CECC has adjusted the criteria for admitting coronavirus patients to hospital, saying the move is aimed at preserving medical capacity due to the high number of domestic infections.
The new policy means that only patients with moderate or severe infections, infants under the age of 3-months with a fever, and patients with other illnesses who are assessed by doctors to require hospitalisation will be admitted.
The policy removes guidelines requiring automatic hospital admission for seniors aged 80 and above, women 36 weeks pregnant and over, and infants aged 3-12 months with a fever above 39-degrees Celsius.
These groups, as well as people aged 70 and above or aged 65-69 and living alone, are now being placed in government-run quarantine centres or designated hotels.
The CECC says the policy is needed to prepare for heightened demand at hospitals, as daily infections rise.
