The Centers for Disease Control’s Central Disease Command Center yesterday asked the seven passengers who were on board the same flight as the second confirmed swine flu patient in Hong Kong to contact the center for testing.
The center’s spokesperson Shih Wen-yi (施文儀) said the infected Hong Kong passenger left for the US on April 29 and arrived in San Francisco on May 2. The patient then left Las Vegas on May 5 and returned to San Francisco on Sunday, where he was scheduled to return to Hong Kong.
The flight was identified as Cathay Pacific Airlines CX879, Shih said. The patient started to show flu symptoms on May 6 and was detained by Hong Kong inspection and quarantine officers at the airport when he arrived on Monday.
Those sitting near the infected passenger — three rows ahead and three rows behind — were required to take preventive medication.
Shih said seven passengers who boarded CX879 and arrived in Hong Kong on Monday had entered Taiwan this week. It was confirmed that none of the passengers sat close to the infected passenger, Shih said. Shih said the center had to yet to decide whether these seven passengers should be inspected or be asked to take preventive medication. Nonetheless, the center wanted the seven passengers to contact them immediately.
Shih also advised the public to avoid visiting the West Coast of the US as the flu outbreak there is now widespread.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
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
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,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
RSS