Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) reported 11,397 new cases of COVID-19 and 71 deaths from the disease on Saturday.

Among the new infections, 11,164 were domestic, which represented a decline of 15.9 percent from the same day a week earlier, according to the CECC.

As the new cases reported on Friday and Saturday were lower than the daily figures before the four-day 228 Peace Memorial Day holiday, which ended on Tuesday, the increased movement of holiday makers in Taiwan has not affected the slowing spread of COVID-19, CECC spokesperson Lo Yi-chun (???) told reporters.

The CECC will next closely monitor whether there is a rise in new infections among children and high school students after the mask mandate is further relaxed in schools on March 6, Lo said.

The relaxed mask mandate in schools is not expected to have an impact on the COVID-19 situation in Taiwan, as the number of new cases has dropped to a much lower level after a high of 33,871 reported on Jan. 4 in the current wave of infections, according to Lo.

Update on mpox cases

Lo, who serves as a deputy director-general of the Centers for Disease Control, updated reporters on the first two patients with locally transmitted monkeypox (mpox) reported in Taiwan on Wednesday.

The two patients, both male, are still in hospital quarantine and their symptoms have improved, said Lo, adding that none of the people listed as their close contacts have contracted mpox.

The viral disease can be transmitted from one person to another by close contact with lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials such as bedding, according to the World Health Organization.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel