Weekly COVID-19 cases could hit 100,000 during peak in June: CDC

Taipei, May 23 (CNA) As new COVID-19 cases continue to surge in Taiwan, the number of outpatient and emergency visits could reach 100,000 during the peak of the outbreak in June, a health official said Friday.

This wave of the outbreak is hitting Taiwan "fast and furious," Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞), deputy director-general and spokesperson of the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC), said at a regular news briefing.

The number of weekly visits by COVID-19 patients was originally projected to peak around 55,000 to 65,000 in mid-to-late June, but people who sought treatment for the illness had already reached 19,189 in the first three days of this week, Lo said.

The rise in new cases, he said, could potentially be double that number by the end of this week.

The increase could be due to heightened public awareness of the outbreak, leading to more COVID-19 testing and the confirmation of more new cases, Lo said.

With this upward trend, Lo said, the number of outpatient and emergency visits could potentially approach or exceed 100,000 in a single week at the peak of the outbreak.

Currently, Taiwan still has an estimated 3.14 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines available in stock, the CDC said, and it urged people who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 and those who had their first dose six months ago to get their shots as soon as possible.

There is also a sufficient stock of oral antiviral drugs, including 206,000 doses of Remdesivir, 469,000 courses of Paxlovid, 10,000 courses of Molnupiravir and 5,000 courses of Xocova, the CDC said.

Manufactured by Japanese pharmaceutical company Shionogi, Xocova is the first COVID-19 antiviral oral medication to receive full approval in Japan, according to the company's website.

According to the CDC, Taiwan's health ministry has revised its medication guidelines to allow the new Japanese oral drug to be used for COVID-19, while Paxlovid is now also open for patients with severe renal impairment but only in reduced dosage, it said.