Fewer cases of infectious diseases such as severe flu, measles, German measles and Dengue fever were reported last year, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) data showed.
Only one case of severe flu was recorded last year, down from 444 a year earlier, and for the first time, the number of severe enterovirus cases was zero, the data showed.
There were 1,359 and 1,196 cases of severe flu in 2017 and 2018 respectively, while the number reached 2,325 in 2019.
From 2017 to 2019, flu season peaked around the Lunar New Year, with influenza-like symptoms responsible for an average of 30,000 emergency room visits
People conducting self-health management after quarantine or home isolation are required to take their two mandatory COVID-19 tests earlier to better detect the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said on Thursday.
Starting from yesterday, people are required to take a COVID-19 rapid antigen self-test on the second and fourth day of their seven-day self-health management period, the center said.
Previously, people were required to take the first rapid home test on the third day of their self-health management period, and the second test on either the sixth or seventh day.
The tests are now required earlier to account
The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 75 new COVID-19 cases two domestically transmitted and 73 from abroad but no new deaths from the disease.
One of the new domestic cases, a Taoyuan resident in his 30s who received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, is connected to a cluster involving a family in Taipei and New Taipei City, bringing the number of cases in the cluster to six, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center.
The source of the cluster remains unknown, he said.
The other domestic case, whose source of infection is
The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported five domestic COVID-19 infections and 39 imported cases, while also confirming that details of a shortened quarantine period for inbound business travelers would be announced later this week.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that the five domestic infections confirmed yesterday all tested positive during isolation and are linked to two previous local clusters.
Four local cases are family members of participants of a religious gathering in Taipei on Feb. 13, of which 28 participants have been diagnosed with COVID-19, while the other local case is a