The Central Epidemics Command Center (CECC) yesterday lowered the nation’s swine flu alert from level three to level two, meaning that while Taiwan has imported A(H1N1) cases, no spreading at the community level has been observed.
The drop was announced as the nation’s 7th confirmed flu case — the first person to contract the virus without traveling abroad — left quarantine after seven days yesterday.
No other domestic cases have been reported.
“Case 7” is believed to have contracted the virus while dining with a woman and her daughter — “Case 4” and “Case 6” — after they returned from the Philippines, CECC spokesman Shih Wen-yi (施文儀) said yesterday.
After a week in quarantine, “Case 7” has recovered well, Shih said.
Meanwhile, the CECC confirmed the nation’s 12th imported case yesterday.
“The patient is a 33-year-old male Taiwanese businessman. While on a business trip to New York to visit a client on May 12, the patient stayed with his parents at their residence in New York City. He had a meal with his elder sister, who had a fever,” Shih said.
“As the man traveled first class to Hong Kong, he did not come into contact with many passengers on the flight,” Shih said.
For his flight from Hong Kong to Taiwan on Wednesday, however, the man traveled in economy class, Shih said.
The man, who by then had a mild headache and stuffy nose, went to a movie with his spouse and three friends on Thursday, Shih said.
The man was quarantined on Saturday after he checked into the Taipei Veterans General Hospital emergency room on Friday, complaining of a fever. Tests confirmed that he was infected with the A(H1N1) virus on Saturday, Shih said.
“Of the 44 people who have been in contact with ‘Case 12’ — including his wife, movie buddies and passengers sitting within three rows in front and back of him during his flight to Taiwan — 42 have been contacted by the Centers for Disease Control [CDC] and none has shown symptoms of H1N1,” Shih said.
However he said that because “Case 12” wore a facemask during his flight to Taiwan and at the movie theater, the only person who faced higher risks of contracting the virus was the man’s wife. Consequently, the CDC gave her flu medication.
To avoid causing panic, the CECC said last week it would no longer announce flights on which swine flu patients traveled, unless evidence shows that the virus was contracted during flight.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
‘DANGEROUS GAME’: Legislative Yuan budget cuts have already become a point of discussion for Democrats and Republicans in Washington, Elbridge Colby said Taiwan’s fall to China “would be a disaster for American interests” and Taipei must raise defense spending to deter Beijing, US President Donald Trump’s pick to lead Pentagon policy, Elbridge Colby, said on Tuesday during his US Senate confirmation hearing. The nominee for US undersecretary of defense for policy told the Armed Services Committee that Washington needs to motivate Taiwan to avoid a conflict with China and that he is “profoundly disturbed” about its perceived reluctance to raise defense spending closer to 10 percent of GDP. Colby, a China hawk who also served in the Pentagon in Trump’s first team,
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
INVESTMENT WATCH: The US activity would not affect the firm’s investment in Taiwan, where 11 production lines would likely be completed this year, C.C. Wei said Investments by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in the US should not be a cause for concern, but rather seen as the moment that the company and Taiwan stepped into the global spotlight, President William Lai (賴清德) told a news conference at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday alongside TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家). Wei and US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday announced plans to invest US$100 billion in the US to build three advanced foundries, two packaging plants, and a research and development center, after Trump threatened to slap tariffs on chips made
RSS