The nation’s A(H1N1) influenza, or swine flu, epidemic continued to grow, with 10 more people — the youngest being one year old — yesterday being hospitalized for exhibiting severe symptoms of the disease, the Department of Health (DOH) yesterday said.
The new cases occurred only a day after 11 A(H1N1) patients required hospitalization on Saturday — the highest number of cases per day admitted for swine flu to date — and pushed the total number of the nation’s hospitalized A(H1N1) flu patients to 75 as of yesterday.
The 10 new hospitalized cases ranged in age from one to 53, with five of the cases coming from northern Taiwan, three from central Taiwan and two from southern Taiwan, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said.
“Whereas previously it might take a virus six months to spread around the world, the WHO has observed that it only took six weeks for the [A]H1N1 virus to permeate the global population,” said CDC Director-General Steve Kuo (郭旭崧) said of the growth of the epidemic.
One reason is that because people are more mobile now, with more frequent international travel and trade, he said, adding that the WHO has found that the A(H1N1) virus is four times more likely to successfully enter human bodies than other viruses.
However, Kuo urged people not to panic.
“As the number of hospitalized cases will logically increase when more people are infected; this is expected,” he said.
“The most important task in [A]H1N1 disease control is to not allow deaths to increase,” he said.
As of yesterday, of the 75 hospitalized A(H1N1) patients, 39 have recovered and been released, 31 are still being treated and five have died.
As the epidemic spreads, the CDC decided to release 250,000 doses of Tamiflu to city and county clinics, and have allocated the drugs according to city and county population ratios, Kuo said.
“As schools are starting Monday [today], to reduce the possibility of group infections, we will release 2 million facemasks from the national stockpile onto the market, and sell them at convenience stores for NT$6 each,” he said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft