Australia’s swine flu cases increased to 16 after new infections were confirmed in Victoria state, while South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong also added to their tolls.
Two more people were diagnosed with the virus in Victoria, Australia, the Herald Sun newspaper reported, citing state Health Minister Daniel Andrews. South Korea confirmed four more swine flu cases, increasing its total to 10; Hong Kong’s government confirmed two more cases, bringing the total number of infections in the city to six and Japan confirmed a new case in the city of Osaka.
Confirmed swine flu cases globally total 12,022 in 43 countries, with 86 people killed by the virus, the WHO’s latest tally showed. Still, the WHO said on Friday that the virus would need to be global and show significant harm to people before declaring a pandemic.
The Philippines yesterday reported the nation’s second confirmed case of swine flu in a 50-year-old woman who arrived in the country on May 20 from the US, Philippine Health Secretary Francisco Duque said in a statement on the ministry’s Web site.
Five US citizens and a Vietnamese citizen are among the confirmed cases in South Korea, with the others being South Korean, the nation’s health ministry said. There are three probable cases among passengers who arrived in Incheoen International Airport yesterday via an Asian Airlines Inc flight, it said.
Singapore had two additional swine flu cases for investigation, the city-state’s health ministry said on its Web site yesterday. Of the 42 cases investigated so far, 34 cases have tested negative for swine flu and eight tested positive for the typical seasonal flu strains, the health ministry said.
China had eight confirmed cases of the A(H1N1) flu virus, a statement on the health ministry Web site said.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
STORM’S PATH: Kong-Rey could be the first typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in November since Gilda in 1967. Taitung-Green Island ferry services have been halted Tropical Storm Kong-rey is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon early today and could make landfall in Taitung County between late Thursday and early Friday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, Kong-Rey was 1,030km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the nation’s southernmost point, and was moving west at 7kph. The tropical storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126 kph, CWA data showed. After landing in Taitung, the eye of the storm is forecast to move into the Taiwan Strait through central Taiwan on Friday morning, the agency said. With the storm moving
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
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