The nation last week recorded 338 new cases of severe flu with complications, 15 of which resulted in death, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
Since July last year, 1,109 severe flu cases have been reported in Taiwan, and 84 of them have been fatal, the agency said.
The CDC said that in 95 percent of the cases, the patients had not been vaccinated against the flu.
During the three-day 228 Memorial Day weekend, more than 12,000 people sought medical attention for the flu, the agency said.
CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center director Liu Ting-ping (劉定萍) said the influenza epidemic in Taiwan has been on the wane after peaking on Feb. 9.
The number of severe flu cases peaked on Feb. 22, but is also now on the decline, Liu said.
The H1N1 influenza A strain remains the most prevalent variant of the flu virus this year, she said.
Separately, experts at a meeting said that there was no need to set national guidelines for suspending classes in situations where influenza is affecting schools.
There is no evidence that suspending classes would help contain the flu epidemic, which is already on the wane, agency Deputy Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩) said.
Furthermore, most of the severe flu cases and deaths have been in the over-50 age group, rather than among children, he said.
Some studies showed that suspending classes would increase schoolchildren’s contact with their communities and families, which could result in a 27 percent spike in the incidence of the flu, Chou said.
As of Saturday last week, about 71 classes in 50 schools nationwide had implemented suspensions of classes due to cases of influenza, statistics from the Ministry of Education showed.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
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