Taiwan’s Covid-19 Fatality Rate Is Higher Than Global Average 

The coronavirus related death toll in Taiwan is increasing rapidly, with 275 new Covid-19 cases and 25 new fatalities recorded on 9 June.

According to the island’s health authorities, Taiwan’s Covid-19 fatality rate has jumped to 2.8 per cent—a number which is extremely concerning at this moment as it is higher than the global average, which is 2.1 per cent.

The Central Epidemic Command Centre in Taiwan had reported a total of 11,968 coronavirus infection cases with 333 deaths by 9 June, up from just 2,017 cases with 12 deaths on 17 May.

The Covid-19 situation in Taiwan is alarming as the fatality-per-infection rate has risen from 0.59 per cent to 2.8 per cent.

This fatality rate has led critics to comment that the government has not done enough to curb the outbreak.

The South China Morning Post reported that Cheng Li-wen, who is a legislator of the main opposition Kuomintang party, said in a recent Facebook post: “What has the government done wrong to have our Covid-19 fatality rate going even higher than the average global rate”.

During a legislative meeting on 8 June, a question was raised about a possible shortage of medicine to treat Covid-19 patients that could have been the reason behind the increased death toll in Taiwan.

But reports revealed that as per the authorities, the island has enough medication for the patients.

Taiwan News reported that over 90 per cent of those who died were above the age of 60, and 83 per cent of those who died had chronic illnesses.

According to Chang Shan-chwen, counsellor to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), the unexpected onslaught of the local outbreak took the country off guard, contributing to greater fatality rates as hospitals became overloaded.

He denied claims that some of the patients died because they were not given Remdesivir, an antiviral medicine, sooner.

Instead, Chang explained that age and underlying ailments such as hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular disease had a part in the recent infections’ mortality.

According to Wang Hao-chien, who is the president of the Taiwan Society of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) therapy, an oxygen supply system, can be utilised as an alternative to ventilators for patients with breathing difficulties that may help to decrease mortality rates.

The National Health Insurance Administration will consider whether HFNC therapy should be included in national health insurance coverage to increase treatment accessibility.