《TAIPEI TIMES》 Mask mandate to be lifted in phases: CECC

PROTECTION: Daily cases have been declining, albeit at a slow pace, and could fall below 10,000 by December, which could lead to an easing of mask requirements

By Yang Yuan-ting and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer

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The Central Epidemic Command Center （CECC） yesterday said that the mask mandate would be lifted in phases, as it predicted that daily case counts could fall below 10,000 by December.

Case numbers have begun falling, but the pace of decline is slow, CECC head Victor Wang （王必勝） told a regular news conference.

If the trend continues, daily cases could drop below 10,000 by December, he added.

Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan （薛瑞元） has said that once cases fall below that number, COVID-19 would be considered “like the flu.”

Asked whether the CECC would downgrade or reclassify COVID-19 as a non-notifiable disease after case numbers fall, Wang said it would depend on the overall state of the pandemic, as well as other key factors.

Citing an example of how the pandemic situation could change, Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo （羅一鈞）, deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division, said that the Omicron variant XBB.1 had recently been discovered in Tokyo, with experts predicting it could lead to an eighth wave of infections.

The variant currently accounts for 60 percent of cases in Singapore, he said.

However, while it is more transmissible compared with other variants, there are 30 percent fewer hospitalizations from infection with XBB.1, as well as fewer cases of death or severe illness, he said.

“Despite that, it is important for people to protect themselves, as reinfection with the variant is more likely due to immune escape,” he said.

In terms of how the mask mandate would be eased, Wang said it would be done in stages and that health officials would look at how other countries have loosened their mask policies.

Citing an example of how the first stage might be implemented, he said that masks might only be mandatory when taking public transportation or when going to hospitals or long-term care facilities.

The CECC reported 34,602 new COVID-19 infections — down 7.1 percent week-on-week — including 46 imported cases.

It also reported 57 deaths who ranged in age from their 40s to their 90s, the CECC said, adding that all but one had underlying health issues, while 23 were not vaccinated against COVID-19.

The CECC also reported 47 new cases classified as severe and 100 as moderate.

Taiwan has recorded 7,626,103 COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, including 36,270 classified as imported, and 12,620 deaths from the disease.

Additional reporting by CNA

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES