UPDATE: COVID-19 cases surge in Taiwan, Singapore, as thousands receive medical care

UPDATE SINGAPORE CASES, CHANGES HEADLINE, LEDE, AND DECK

By Berk Kutay Gokmen and Aamir Latif

ISTANBUL (AA) - COVID-19 or coronavirus cases continue to rise in Taiwan and Singapore, with thousands seeking medical care last week, local media reported on Tuesday.

According to Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC), nearly 10,000 COVID-19 patients sought medical care last week, Focus Taiwan reported.

On May 4-10, Taiwan saw 9,978 outpatient and emergency visits related to COVID-19, a 66% increase from the previous week. According to the CDC, this marks the fifth consecutive week of rising cases.

Despite the increase, the weekly case count remained lower than the 23,324 visits recorded during the same period last year, as stated by Lee Chia-lin, the deputy director of the CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Center, during a regular news briefing.

Lee also said that on May 6-11, Taiwan recorded six deaths and 34 new severe cases due to COVID-19.

During Tuesday's briefing, CDC Deputy Director-General Lo Yi-chun stated that COVID-19 cases have been increasing for five consecutive weeks, reaching about 40% of the number of cases reported during the same period last year.

He mentioned that the peak of this year's COVID-19 outbreak is expected to occur in June, as the increase in infections started slightly earlier than it did last year.

According to Lo Yi-chun, last year's peak occurred in early July, when the number of clinic visits in a single week reached 134,000.

Singapore's health authorities announced on Tuesday that they are monitoring a recent increase in COVID-19 infections in the country, following a spike of over 3,000 cases in the previous week.

The Health Ministry reported that the estimated number of COVID-19 cases in the week of April 27 to May 3 increased to 14,200 from 11,100 the previous week.

Authorities said the increase in cases could be attributed to a variety of factors, including waning population immunity.