The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday warned of a large-scale flu epidemic, including swine flu, taking place in the next two weeks.
The regular flu season usually begins at the end of October and ends sometime after the Lunar New Year, but CDC spokesman Lin Ting (林頂) said the CDC was expecting an early start to the flu season this year because of swine flu.
“At the moment, we have more than 9,000 flu cases every week and we expect to have an additional 10,000 flu patients, including cases of swine flu, in the coming weeks,” Lin said, urging the public to stay alert during the potential epidemic.
Lin said the CDC was confident ahead of the fight against the epidemic, adding that it had 10 million doses of flu vaccine ready to use and that an additional 5 million vaccine doses for swine flu were on the way, with the manufacturer promising that there would be at least 3.5 million doses ready by the end of December.
In a related development, summer classes at 14 schools in Taipei City have been forced to close temporarily because of suspected cases of swine flu and it was likely that more schools would be affected.
A meeting on Friday between the Department of Health and Taipei City Government’s Department of Education reached a consensus on continuing to follow the Ministry of Education’s guidelines for class closures, despite concerns that the rigid guidelines could result in a greater number of class closures when the new semester begins on Sept. 1.
Education Department Chief Secretary Lin Hsin-yao (林信耀) said the department would discuss closure guidelines with individual municipal schools and make changes if necessary.
The Ministry of Education’s closure guidelines state that an entire class should be suspended for five days if two or more cases that are suspected to be swine flu occur in the class within the space of three days.
Several school principals, such as Wang Deng-fang (王登方) of Cheng Kung High School and Lee Shih-wen (李世文) of Hoping High School, have expressed concerns about the guidelines, saying it would be difficult for teachers to make up for missed lessons.
“There would be large-scale class closures at schools if an epidemic happened and it would affect the quality of education,” Lee said.
Lin said the department was planning to establish an online study database for students to continue their studies if their classes are suspended.
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
A car bomb killed a senior Russian general in southern Moscow yesterday morning, the latest high-profile army figure to be blown up in a blast that came just hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegates held separate talks in Miami on a plan to end the war. Kyiv has not commented on the incident, but Russian investigators said they were probing whether the blast was “linked” to “Ukrainian special forces.” The attack was similar to other assassinations of generals and pro-war figures that have either been claimed, or are widely believed to have been orchestrated, by Ukraine. Russian Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, 56, head
SAFETY FIRST: Double the number of police were deployed at the Taipei Marathon, while other cities released plans to bolster public event safety Authorities across Taiwan have stepped up security measures ahead of Christmas and New Year events, following a knife and smoke bomb attack in Taipei on Friday that left four people dead and 11 injured. In a bid to prevent potential copycat incidents, police deployments have been expanded for large gatherings, transport hubs, and other crowded public spaces, according to official statements from police and city authorities. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city has “comprehensively raised security readiness” in crowded areas, increased police deployments with armed officers, and intensified patrols during weekends and nighttime hours. For large-scale events, security checkpoints and explosives
PUBLIC SAFETY: The premier said that security would be tightened in transport hubs, while President Lai commended the public for their bravery The government is to deploy more police, including rapid response units, in crowded public areas to ensure a swift response to any threats, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after a knife attack killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei the previous day. Lai made the remarks following a briefing by the National Police Agency on the progress of the investigation, saying that the attack underscored the importance of cooperation in public security between the central and local governments. The attack unfolded in the early evening on Friday around Taipei Main Station’s M7 exit and later near the Taipei MRT’s Zhongshan
RSS