The Central Epidemic Command Center and the Council of Agriculture yesterday asked live poultry vendors not to adopt a wait-and-see attitude toward the government’s ban on the live slaughter of poultry or to labor under the illusion that the implementation will be suspended as the H7N9 avian influenza outbreak in China seemingly wanes.
The center said that the ban awould take effect on Friday as announced and those who fail to comply with the Animal Industry Act (畜牧法) by continuing to slaughter live poultry would be subject to a fine of between NT$20,000 and NT$100,000, while repeat offenders could face imprisonment.
“Live poultry trading in traditional markets will also be illegal starting from May 17,” Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director Chou Jih-haw (周志浩) said, adding that the offense would be punished in accordance with the Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法), with a maximum penalty of NT$15,000.
Ministry of Economic Affairs official Hsieh Chen-tung (謝振東) said that of the 1,051 registered live poultry vendors, 805 had applied for the NT$100,000 subsidy offered by the ministry as of yesterday morning.
“Those who have not applied, we understand, believe that the policy might be suspended as the H7N9 outbreak in China seems to be waning,” Hsieh said, before reiterating that the ban would not be suspended and the subsidy would not be available after tomorrow.
Meanwhile, National Taiwan University Hospital deputy superintendent Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳) said that the only person in Taiwan known to be infected with the H7N9 avian flu continues to make progress and is now free of the virus.
Several tests have shown that the patient, identified only as a 53-year-old businessman to protect his privacy, is now free of the H7N9 virus, but he still requires treatment, Chang said.
The man fell ill three days after he returned from a business trip to China’s Jiangsu Province early last month, and it was confirmed on April 24 that he had been infected with H7N9.
He was admitted to NTU’s intensive care unit on April 20 and for 10 days he was under extracorporeal membrane oxygenation life support because his heart and lungs were not functioning properly.
Additional reporting by CNA
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS