Taiwan's COVID curve could start decline by Friday: CECC

There may be a downward trend in Taiwan's COVID curve starting on Friday, according to the head of the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) (June 10).

Earlier this week, reporters questioned Chen Shih-chung, the director of Taiwan's Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CECC), about whether the country's COVID numbers might peak within the next week. Despite earlier simulations suggesting otherwise, Chen predicted, according to TVBS, that the outbreak would "peak in about a week" and "there will be a chance of a reversal by June 10."

According to CECC data, the country's infection rate is 10% over the past seven days. Despite a recent spike in new cases above 10,000 per day, the number of cases has remained below 80,000 for five days in a row.

Ebola infection rates in the United States have been steadily declining since they peaked at 10%, according to Chen at a press conference on Monday (June 7). Despite recent decreases in the number of reported cases, the outbreak is still on a downward trajectory according to a seven-day moving average

Taipei and the northern districts of Taiwan have 14 percent and 12 percent infection rates, respectively, when the epidemic is divided into six districts. Infection rates have increased in the southern district and in Kaohsiung/Pingtung, while infection rates have decreased slightly in the eastern district. With an infection rate of less than 8%, the central district is still the most contagious place in the city.

In Taipei and the north, where there are so many people, Chen claims that the national outbreak trend has decreased because infection rates have dropped significantly. He predicted that the outbreak would peak in the central and southern regions this week.

A few days after the three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday, Chen said he would keep an eye on the numbers to see how they changed.