Taiwan Covid Cases Hit A Daily Record 68,732; Computex Tech Fair Affirms In-Person Return

Taiwan, home to many of the world’s largest technology companies, reported 68,732 new domestically transmitted cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, the highest daily total since the pandemic began and more than quadruple the 15,033 local cases disclosed on April 30, according to the Central News Agency.

Nineteen Covid deaths were reported — all patients were in their 70s to 90s, of which eight had not been vaccinated, CNA said on Sunday. Of the 672,998 domestic cases reported in Taiwan from Jan. 1 to May 14, 1,151 involved moderate infections and 294 were severe, accounting for 0.17 percent and 0.04 percent of the total; the rest were mild or asymptomatic, the news agency said.

Against that backdrop, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council on Wednesday reconfirmed earlier announced plans for its big annual international technology trade show Computex to open for in-person participation May 24-27 in Taipei after two years of virtual expos. About 5,000 individuals from more than 70 countries had pre-registered for the gathering that will also be partly hybrid, CNA said. An online exhibition, Computex DigitalGo, will also be held from May 24 to June 6, the council said, according to a CNA report. Speakers will include Lisa Su, chairwoman and CEO of AMD, Kurt Sievers, CEO of NXP, and David Moore, chief strategy officer of Micron, along with executives from Nvidia, Microsoft, Texas Instruments and others. (Click here for details.)

Taiwan earlier this month reduced hotel quarantine time for foreign arrivals to seven days from the previous 10, owing to the relatively short incubation time for the Omicron virus and the “need for Taiwan to maintain normal economic activity and preserve its critical medical capacity,” CNA reported.

In contrast to Taiwan, mainland China has used lengthy, stringent lockdowns of individuals infected or potentially exposed to Covid that for some has lasted several weeks. Shanghai will gradually allow shopping malls and markets to reopen starting today (see post here).

Taiwan has a population of more than 23 million, is home to the world’s 22^nd largest economy, and is a leading source of electronics products. Taiwan businesses that rank on the 2022 Forbes Global 2000 list of the world’s top publicly traded companies out this month include Hon Hai Precision — the big supplier to Apple led by billionaire Terry Gou, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., or TSMC, which makes computer chips for Intel.

Others among Taiwan’s numerous Apple suppliers include Pegatron, Lite-On Technology, Inventec, Catcher Technology, Largan Precision and Compeq Manufacturing.

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@rflannerychina