The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday that anti-epidemic measures to combat swine flu will be eased gradually, but urged the public to stay vigilant.
“You do not have to panic, but you do have to pay attention to your health,” CDC spokesman Shih Wen-yi (施文儀) told a press conference at the center yesterday.
Shih said that as the swine flu epidemic seemed to be slowing down, onboard inspections at international airports in Taiwan ended yesterday and were being replaced by “inspections of suspect passengers.”
For the new inspections, Shih said that epidemiologists would only board a plane when sick passengers were reportedly onboard.
“I would also urge the public to delay a trip and not board a plane when they feel sick. This is the best solution to stopping infection,” Shih said.
Shih also urged overseas Taiwanese students to be sure they are healthy before returning home for summer vacation.
He said that as schools in the US and Canada will start their summer break in two weeks, swine flu could be brought into Taiwan by students if they are infected. Both countries are among the worst affected by the new H1N1 virus, or swine flu.
Taiwan's overseas representative offices will provide students with information on Taiwan's precautionary measures against the flu and help them if they need medical care, Shih said.
Also yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said the ministry's travel advisories for countries with confirmed cases of swine flu were appropriate and that no countries had protested the measures to date.
A yellow alert, at the bottom of the MOFA's three-color travel advisory scale, serves as a reminder for travelers to exercise caution. An orange travel alert advises travelers to postpone their trips and a red alert warns travelers not to enter the area in question under any circumstances.
Asked whether the ministry would consider raising its yellow travel advisory for Japan given that country's increasing number of H1N1 cases, Chen said the ministry, which closely follows the epidemic alerts of the CDC, respects the CDC's professional judgment but would not change its advisory for now.
He said that as the confirmed cases are mainly in the Kansai Area in western Japan, this indicated that the disease had not yet spread to other parts of the country.
The confirmed cases in Japan raised particular concern in Taiwan because Japanese tourists constitute the biggest segment of international tourist arrivals in Taiwan, with more than 1 million visitors each year. Japan is also the most popular tourist destination for Taiwanese travelers.
Mexico is the only country for which the MOFA has issued an orange travel alert.
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
RSS