Amid surge in daily cases, Taiwan likely to witness COVID-19 peak in second half of May
May 02, 2022
Taipei [Taiwan], May 2 : As the daily COVID-19 infections in Taiwan continue to rise, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) has predicted that the country could witness the peak of the pandemic wave in the second half of May, reported local media.
Notably, Taiwan logged 17,085 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, continuing the steady rise in case numbers since they exceeded 100 in a single day for the first time this year on April 1, reported Focus Taiwan.
Reacting to the experts' prediction of the pandemic peak occurring in the second half of May, Taiwan Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said that was one possibility among the various estimates made at this stage.
Earlier on April 27, citing a National Health Research Institute estimate, Chen had said that the country could witness 40,000 to 100,000 new cases per day during the peak of the pandemic. He, however, did not say when that peak might occur.
Meanwhile, based on the high positivity rate seen in COVID-19 testing in Taiwan, the coronavirus appears to still be spreading in communities, especially in northern Taiwan, according to the media outlet.
According to CECC data, from April 23-29, the positivity rate averaged 9.63 per cent for all of Taiwan but was 21.98 per cent in New Taipei and 14.78 per cent in Taipei.
Meanwhile, Taiwan has reported 132,955 COVID-19 cases so far including 11,386 imported cases and 121,515 local cases.
