The Ministry of National Defense said on Thursday it has ordered military units to take the temperature of every service member during morning and evening roll calls each day as part of its efforts to prevent SARS outbreaks.
Major General Lu Li-chun, (
In fact, Lu said, the military has continued to implement temperature-taking and self-health management measures since early January with a view to preventing a SARS comeback.
"Now that the DOH has decided to launch the level A SARS prevention campaign, the ministry will continue its twice-daily temperature-taking and self-health management measures to stem any possible SARS outbreak in military barracks," Lu said, adding that his bureau will also strengthen its monitoring of relevant epidemic developments.
Meanwhile, Kinmen has never let down its guard against SARS, with passengers arriving at Kinmen airport and harbor having their temperatures taken since last year, health officials said Thursday.
Kinmen health official Chen Tien-shun (
Chen said that Kinmen has maintained a level A alert because of its proximity to China, adding that since last month, all Taiwanese businesspeople operating in China, not just Taiwanese businesspeople based in Fujian Province, have been able to travel between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait via the "small three links," so that the officials have to be more cautious.
Yen Chi-heng, an official with the Center for Disease Control, said that infrared thermal imaging machines were installed at the harbor and airport to measure temperatures.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai