The spread of dengue fever in southern Taiwan is not showing any signs of abatement. As of yesterday, the number of cases nationwide since May 1 had risen to 6,872, with Tainan accounting for 88 percent, or 6,069 cases; an increase of 483 cases from the previous day.
The latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) showed that suspected deaths resulting from dengue had increased to 36, with 34 in Tainan and two in Kaohsiung.
Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) of the Democratic Progressive Party has an unshirkable responsibility to take up the fight against the mosquito-borne disease. However, as disease knows no borders, cooperation between the central and local governments, irrespective of party affiliations, is crucial for successful epidemic crisis management.
In view of what has happened over the past month, it is utterly regrettable that despite the rapid spread of the disease in southern Taiwan, there has been a noticeable absence of central government involvement in efforts to curb the epidemic. It appears that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration, rather than swiftly taking responsibilities upon itself for the sake of the public’s health, is instead using the outbreak as an opportunity to attack Lai.
The first dengue-related death this year was recorded on Aug. 10 — a 73-year-old man who lived in Tainan’s South District (南區). However, it was not until Saturday last week that officials from the central government went to Tainan and convened the CDC’s first joint meeting with the municipal government on the outbreak.
Furthermore, comments made by CDC officials after the meeting appeared to be more of a put-down of the city’s disease-fighting efforts rather than a declaration of cooperation to curb the spread of the disease.
For example, CDC Director-General Steve Kuo (郭旭崧) said that the municipality’s policy of spraying pesticide to kill mosquitoes was futile, because even if two out of 10 mosquitoes survive the spray, they can still pass on the disease. The spraying was basically just for show, he added.
Other than uttering remarks that hurt the morale of disease-prevention workers laboring on the frontlines, the central government appears content to twiddle its thumbs. It has yet to set up a central command center in Tainan.
In Kuo’s words, such a center would not be a “good division of labor” between the central and local governments.
With this kind of leadership, is it any wonder that Tainan continues to see more dengue cases?
Those central government officials and KMT lawmakers who wish to target Lai over the dengue outbreak need to be reminded that in the public’s eye, the government’s lack of swift action coordinating an epidemic-control team only makes them the subject of criticism. The public has good reason to question the central government’s ability to muster and execute strategies and build an all-round, multidimensional and multilevel system for epidemic crisis management.
While some officials remain blinded by political considerations, members of the public know too well that this lack of cohesiveness and concerted action damages the interest of the nation and the public — not just a party or a city.
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