The Central Epidemics Command Center (CECC) yesterday lowered the nation’s swine flu alert from level three to level two, meaning that while Taiwan has imported A(H1N1) cases, no spreading at the community level has been observed.
The drop was announced as the nation’s 7th confirmed flu case — the first person to contract the virus without traveling abroad — left quarantine after seven days yesterday.
No other domestic cases have been reported.
“Case 7” is believed to have contracted the virus while dining with a woman and her daughter — “Case 4” and “Case 6” — after they returned from the Philippines, CECC spokesman Shih Wen-yi (施文儀) said yesterday.
After a week in quarantine, “Case 7” has recovered well, Shih said.
Meanwhile, the CECC confirmed the nation’s 12th imported case yesterday.
“The patient is a 33-year-old male Taiwanese businessman. While on a business trip to New York to visit a client on May 12, the patient stayed with his parents at their residence in New York City. He had a meal with his elder sister, who had a fever,” Shih said.
“As the man traveled first class to Hong Kong, he did not come into contact with many passengers on the flight,” Shih said.
For his flight from Hong Kong to Taiwan on Wednesday, however, the man traveled in economy class, Shih said.
The man, who by then had a mild headache and stuffy nose, went to a movie with his spouse and three friends on Thursday, Shih said.
The man was quarantined on Saturday after he checked into the Taipei Veterans General Hospital emergency room on Friday, complaining of a fever. Tests confirmed that he was infected with the A(H1N1) virus on Saturday, Shih said.
“Of the 44 people who have been in contact with ‘Case 12’ — including his wife, movie buddies and passengers sitting within three rows in front and back of him during his flight to Taiwan — 42 have been contacted by the Centers for Disease Control [CDC] and none has shown symptoms of H1N1,” Shih said.
However he said that because “Case 12” wore a facemask during his flight to Taiwan and at the movie theater, the only person who faced higher risks of contracting the virus was the man’s wife. Consequently, the CDC gave her flu medication.
To avoid causing panic, the CECC said last week it would no longer announce flights on which swine flu patients traveled, unless evidence shows that the virus was contracted during flight.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS