'Taiwan, a "Corona Clean Zone," Faces Omicron Emergency... New Cases Rising'

Cumulative Patients Total 17,528

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] Even in Taiwan, once known as a COVID-19 clean country, confirmed cases of the Omicron variant are rapidly increasing.

According to Taiwanese media on the 8th, 79 patients infected with the Omicron variant were confirmed during the week from the 31st of last month to the 6th of this month. As a result, the cumulative number of Omicron variant infections has been counted at 145. Among them, 138 cases were imported from overseas, and 7 were local infections.

Taiwanese health authorities stated that among the overseas imported cases, 84 entered from the United States, 12 from the United Kingdom, and 8 from Kazakhstan. They also reported that most patients were breakthrough infection cases. All overseas imported cases were confirmed in quarantine hotels after arrival.

Accordingly, Taipei City and others announced that from today, visits to hospitals and nursing facilities will be suspended in response to the spread of the Omicron variant. Taiwan, with a population of 23.5 million, has a cumulative total of 17,258 COVID-19 cases.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.