Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) yesterday ordered the Ministry of Health and Welfare to coordinate efforts with local governments on dengue fever prevention and control, in the wake of the viral infection spreading to 10 administrative regions.
As Taiwan sees a surge in cases, Chen instructed the ministry during a weekly Cabinet meeting to closely monitor the epidemic in the country and abroad, evaluate potential risks and prepare outbreak response resources, Cabinet spokesman Lin Tze-luen (林子倫) said.
The premier also ordered the ministry to convene a meeting with local governments to coordinate disease control efforts.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
As of Wednesday, 1,261 domestic cases of dengue fever had been reported in 10 regions, including 1,053 in Tainan, the worst-affected place, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said.
A total of 96 new domestic cases were reported on Wednesday, including 82 in Tainan and 10 in Yunlin County.
Pingtung County also recorded two cases, including one death — a 86-year-old woman with multiple chronic diseases — the second fatality associated with dengue fever this year, the county’s public health bureau said in a statement yesterday.
Meanwhile, Taipei on Wednesday reported a confirmed domestic dengue fever case, the first recorded in the city since 2020.
A teenager in Datong District (大同) who traveled to Tainan from July 21 to 23 developed a fever, chills and fatigue on July 30, before going to a hospital on Friday last week and being diagnosed with dengue fever.
Also on Wednesday, Hsinchu City and Miaoli County reported their first domestic cases of dengue fever since 2016.
Measures taken by local governments to prevent the disease caused by the dengue virus, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, include breaking the transmission cycle by removing stagnant water from potential mosquito breeding habitats, and disinfecting potential indoor and outdoor breeding sites.
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
COMMUNITY SPIRIT: As authorities were busy with post-typhoon cleanups elsewhere, residents cleaned fallen leaves and cut small fallen trees blocking the hiking trails All hiking trails damaged by Typhoon Kong-rey have been repaired and has reopened for people who want a refreshing hike in Taipei during the Lunar New Year holiday, a city official said. The Taipei Basin is known for its easily accessible hiking trails. It has more than 130 trails combined into the 92km-long Taipei Grand Trail, which was divided into seven major routes when it was launched by the Taipei City Government in 2018. Last year, a part of the sixth route of the Grand Trail collapsed due to Typhoon Kong-rey, which hit Taiwan in October. The damaged section belongs to one
RSS