A habit of regular exercise to enhance heart function is an effective way to avoid being hit by various diseases, Department of Health (DOH) Director-General Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said yesterday.
When giving the opening speech at an international conference held by the Bureau of Health Promotion under the DOH yesterday in Taipei, Chen said exercise habits in the country were worrisome.
According to a survey by the DOH in April, only one-third of residents over the age of 30 exercise regularly. The survey found that one-quarter of residents over the age of 30 never exercise.
Chen said health authorities had shifted their focus from the prevention of infectious diseases to the management of chronic diseases, which can be prevented through strategies involving early detection.
"That's why the DOH promotes the cultivation of personal hygiene habits, such as hand washing and temperature taking, but also a habit of exercising regularly," Chen said.
According to Chen, 30 minutes of jogging or walking, three days a week, is an efficient way to maintain health.
Meanwhile, to prevent the reoccurrence of SARS, Center for Disease Control (CDC) officials suggested last Friday a temperature-taking campaign.
Last week, the Ministry of Education demanded that schools at all levels conduct compulsory temperature-taking, beginning today, and tell anyone whose temperature exceeds 38?C to return home.
In addition, health officials said people should avoid staying in hospital for more than an hour. Beginning today, the CDC will also make 1.2 million anti-flu tablets available to flu patients above 65 at no cost.
Chen said last week that Taiwan's experience in controlling and preventing SARS had set an example for other countries.
According to Chen, who visited the US Congressional General Accounting Office (GAO) last month, being honest was the most effective weapon in fighting SARS.
Chen told the US officials that Taiwan is quite different from China, which tends to conceal information about communicable diseases.
Using the spread of SARS in April as an example, Chen said that the DOH confirmed that some suspected cases among returning Taiwanese businessmen were contracted in Shanghai or Beijing.
Chen said, at that time, the World Health Organization doubted Taiwan's explanation for the cases because China was silent about the disease.
In order to prevent and control the spread of SARS, Chen said that Taiwan had revised its strategy based on experience, including relaxing quarantine measures, encouraging daily temperature checks and improving hospital hygiene.
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
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Heat advisories were in effect for nine administrative regions yesterday afternoon as warm southwesterly winds pushed temperatures above 38°C in parts of southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 3:30pm yesterday, Tainan’s Yujing District (玉井) had recorded the day’s highest temperature of 39.7°C, though the measurement will not be included in Taiwan’s official heat records since Yujing is an automatic rather than manually operated weather station, the CWA said. Highs recorded in other areas were 38.7°C in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門), 38.2°C in Chiayi City and 38.1°C in Pingtung’s Sandimen Township (三地門), CWA data showed. The spell of scorching