The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday it was considering easing screening for swine flu now that the spread of the epidemic seemed to be slowing down.
“We will discuss whether passengers who sat more than six rows away from a confirmed swine flu patient on a flight should be tested,” CDC spokesman Shih Wen-yi (施文儀) said.
“The virus is not as virulent as we expected. Now that the spread of the epidemic is slowing down, we are considering easing precautionary measures so that only those who sit within six rows of a confirmed patient are tested,” he said.
At press time yesterday, the CDC still required all passengers who shared a flight with a confirmed swine flu patient to be tested, no matter what seat they were in.
The Infectious Disease Society of Taiwan yesterday issued a statement along the same lines, but urged the CDC to prepare long-term anti-epidemic measures to combat the spread of viruses like the A(H1N1) swine flu strain.
The CDC yesterday completed tests on seven passengers who had been on the same flight as Hong Kong’s second confirmed swine flu patient on Monday. The results proved negative.
In related news, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday issued a yellow travel alert for Belgium, bringing to 29 the number of countries and areas that Taiwan has tagged with a yellow advisory since the start of the swine flu outbreak.
“In light of Belgium’s confirmation of its first human infection of swine flu, the ministry has issued a yellow travel alert for that country and is advising citizens to take health precautions,” the ministry’s Bureau of Consular Affairs said in a press release.
The ministry on Tuesday downgraded its travel advisory from red to orange for Mexico — the center of the worldwide outbreak — after the CDC lowered its disease level for the North American country.
Mexico remains the only country for which the ministry has issued an orange travel alert because of swine flu.
Upon its completion next year, the new Tamkang Bridge (淡江大橋) in New Taipei City is to be an important landmark in Taiwan, alongside Taipei 101, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) said today. The bridge is scheduled to be completed in December next year and open to the public in the first half of 2026, connecting New Taipei City’s Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里) districts. It is an asymmetric single-tower suspension bridge, nearly 70 stories tall, designed by world-famous architect Zaha Hadid. The bridge aims to alleviate traffic in Tamsui and on the Guandu Bridge (關渡大橋), in addition to increasing the
EXERCISES: A 2022 article by a Chinese intelligence expert identified at least six People’s Liberation Army assault boats hidden inside the Hong Kong-flagged ship A Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship that had been docked at Taichung Port and which previously took part in Chinese military exercises departed from the port on Saturday, the Taiwan International Ports Corp’s Taichung branch said yesterday. The statement came in response to a post on the social media platform X by Taiwan-based journalist Chris Horton that said the ship, the SCSC Fortune, had been docked at the port since Tuesday and questioned whether Taiwan has any rules regarding foreign civilian vessels that have participated in People’s Liberation Army (PLA) exercises. Horton referenced a 2022 article by Chinese intelligence expert Rod Lee that
PROBLEMATIC: Popular hotpot restaurant chains were among the list of restaurants that failed the inspection and have been ordered to remove bad ingredients The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of hotpot ingredients in hotpot restaurants resulted in a 16.7 percent failure rate. Eight vegetables had excessive pesticide residue and two other items had aflatoxin and excessive preservatives. As the weather is getting colder, more people eat at hotpot restaurants so a random inspection of ingredients was conducted in October to ensure food safety, the department said. Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) said 60 different ingredients were tested: 15 high-risk vegetables, 15 processed food items, 10 soy-based food items, five meat items, five lamb items, five seafood items and five peanut powder
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: As some roads would be fully or partially closed, people are advised to take the MRT, with services expanded to accommodate more riders This year’s Taipei Marathon, which has obtained its first gold label certification from World Athletics, is to be held from 5am to 1pm tomorrow and would have 28,000 participants. The race is to start from the Taipei City Plaza and would go through major roads throughout the city, with traffic control implemented from 6am to 2pm, officials said. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system and New Taipei City MRT Circle line would start operating at 5am on the day of the race, they said. The race would cover Renai Road, Xinyi Road, Hangzhou S Road, Aiguo east and west roads,
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