Taipei: The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported surges in both enterovirus and influenza cases on Tuesday, urging heightened public vigilance.

According to Focus Taiwan, there were 20,913 visits to emergency departments and outpatient clinics from Nov. 3-9 for enterovirus-related cases. This marked a 4.7 percent increase compared to the previous week and surpassed the 20,282 visits recorded in late June, which was the highest during the spring and summer seasons.

The epidemic is still on the rise, as stated by Lee Chia-lin, deputy director of the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Center, during the CDC’s weekly briefing. It is expected that the number of weekly visits will peak in mid-November, reaching up to 22,000. CDC spokesman Lo Yi-chun added that the situation is anticipated to plateau until the end of November and subside by the end of December.

The latest statistics from the CDC on school closures due to enterovirus outbreaks indicate that from Oct. 20-26, a total of 347 classes nationwi
de were suspended. This included 263 kindergarten classes and 27 elementary school classes.

Meanwhile, the CDC reported 202 severe cases of influenza, including 26 deaths, from Oct. 1 to Nov. 11, marking the highest figures for this period in the last 10 years. The ongoing flu outbreak, which has persisted since the summer, is primarily caused by the H1N1 virus. Lo Yi-chun noted that this strain has led to more severe cases and deaths compared to influenza Type A and Type B viruses.