Taiwan Confirmed Covid Cases Nearly Double In Five Days To Daily Record 30,035, Could Top 100,000

Taiwan, home to many of the world’s largest technology companies, reported 30,035 domestically transmitted cases of Covid-19 on Thursday, the highest daily total since the pandemic began and more than double the 15,033 local cases disclosed on April 30, according to the Central News Agency.

Of the 176,213 domestic cases recorded in Taiwan from Jan. 1 to May 4, only 0.3 percent have been moderate or severe, CNA said. Others have displayed either mild symptoms or have been asymptomatic. Five deaths were reported on Thursday, CNA said.

Taiwan, which has a population of 23 million, on May 12 will start counting those in home isolation and return a positive Covid test as a conformed infection, CNA said. The move will help reduce pressure on overcrowded PCR test sites.

If Taiwan’s daily confirmed COVID-19 cases rise to 130,000 or 150,000, the number of cases going undetected would be likely to increase “significantly,” Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said Thursday, CNA reported. Chen spoke after Taiwan’s health ministry estimated in a report that the number of new daily cases would rise to between 54,000 and 102,000 by May 11.

Authorities also announced this week that hotel quarantine time for foreign arrivals will be cut 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 infected or potentially exposed individuals. Much of Shanghai, a city of 26 million, has been locked down for weeks, stirring protests among locals and disrupting global supply chains. Beijing has shuttered

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 the world’s semiconductors. Taiwan businesses that rank on the Forbes Global 2000 list of the world’s top publicly traded companies 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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