Over 1 Million Koreans Visit Taiwan Annually... Sharp Rise in COVID-19 Cases in Taiwan

19,097 Emergency COVID-19 Patients in Taiwan from May 11 to 17
"Outbreak Expected to Peak in Mid-June"

Recently, as COVID-19 is resurging in China, Hong Kong, and Thailand, the number of confirmed cases is also rapidly increasing in Taiwan, which had previously been considered a model country for COVID-19 prevention.

People wearing masks and people not wearing masks are walking mixed together in downtown Seoul. Photo by Dongju Yoon

According to Taiwanese media such as China Times on May 21, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control under the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that from May 11 to 17, the number of emergency medical visits due to COVID-19 was 19,097, an 88.2% increase compared to the previous week (May 4 to 10), when there were 9,978 cases. Specifically, from May 12 to 19, there were 93 severe COVID-19 cases and 4 deaths.

COVID-19 has been spreading in Taiwan for six consecutive weeks. The Centers for Disease Control stated that if this trend continues, the number of cases is expected to peak at around 65,000 in mid-June, and the outbreak is projected to continue until the end of July.

The COVID-19 variants currently circulating in Taiwan are 'NB.1.8.1' and 'XEC', which have been detected at rates of 45% and 30%, respectively.

Since the beginning of this year, there have been a total of 330 severe COVID-19 cases in Taiwan. Among them, 47 people have died, with the majority of deaths occurring in patients aged 65 or older with chronic diseases. In addition, over 90% of the deceased had not received the 'JN.1' vaccine, which is effective against COVID-19 variants.

There has also been a sharp increase in measles cases in Taiwan. From the beginning of this year until May 19, there were 24 imported and 12 domestic measles cases, marking the highest number of measles cases in six years. This increase is attributed to the global rise in measles cases, which has led to more imported cases from abroad.

The previous day, the Centers for Disease Control announced that two Taiwanese men who traveled to Vietnam between late April and early May were confirmed to have measles, and epidemiological investigations are underway for 128 and 165 people who had contact with these patients, respectively.

Meanwhile, as the spread of infectious diseases is accelerating in Taiwan, Korean travelers planning trips to Taiwan are advised to exercise caution. According to the Taiwan Tourism Administration, the number of Korean visitors to Taiwan surpassed 1 million last year. The number of visitors from Korea between January and March this year is expected to exceed 310,000. The number of Taiwanese tourists visiting Korea is also increasing; according to the Korea Tourism Organization Data Lab, there were 1,563,503 Taiwanese visitors to Korea last year.