People returning to work tomorrow should beware of catching the flu, doctors said yesterday as health department statistics showed that the primary sicknesses afflicting those who visit hospital when normal clinical service reopens after the Lunar New Year holiday include acute upper respiratory tract infection (also known as the common cold), gastroenteritis, high blood pressure and allergic reactions.
“Over the new year holiday, overconsumption and irregular bedtimes are common,” Bureau of National Health Insurance section chief Wang Ben-ren (王本仁) said. “Combined with the cold weather, many develop upper respiratory tract sicknesses.”
Doctors warned that because many people contract the flu virus before the Lunar New Year, when office workers return to work, the more frequent human interactions could spark an increase in the number of people coming down with the flu.
“Flu symptoms include sore throat, fever and soreness all over the body,” said Huang Wei-hsin (黃偉新), a family medicine physician at Mackay Memorial Hospital. “Over the holidays, the number of patients affected with the flu has risen significantly.”
Huang said because many people take a long time to recuperate from the flu, by the time they go into the office, they may still have not healed and could infect others with the virus. He advised those who have flu symptoms to immediately see a doctor and stay home to avoid infecting others.
The bureau also advises those who are traveling or spending time outdoors to keep warm in the cold weather.
The military has spotted two Chinese warships operating in waters near Penghu County in the Taiwan Strait and sent its own naval and air forces to monitor the vessels, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Beijing sends warships and warplanes into the waters and skies around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, drawing condemnation from Taipei. While the ministry offers daily updates on the locations of Chinese military aircraft, it only rarely gives details of where Chinese warships are operating, generally only when it detects aircraft carriers, as happened last week. A Chinese destroyer and a frigate entered waters to the southwest
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment last year on Tokyo’s potential reaction to a Taiwan-China conflict has forced Beijing to rewrite its invasion plans, a retired Japanese general said. Takaichi told the Diet on Nov. 7 last year that a Chinese naval blockade or military attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially allowing Tokyo to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force general Kiyofumi Ogawa said in a recent speech that the remark has been interpreted as meaning Japan could intervene in the early stages of a Taiwan Strait conflict, undermining China’s previous assumptions
Taiwan Railways Corp (TRC) today announced that Shin Kong Mitsukoshi has been selected as the preferred bidder to operate the Taipei Railway Station shopping mall, replacing the current operator, Breeze Development Co Ltd. Among eight qualified firms that delivered presentations and were evaluated by a review committee, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi was ranked first, while Breeze was named the runner-up, the rail company said in a statement. Contract negotiations are to proceed in accordance with regulations, it said, adding that if negotiations with the top bidder fail, it could invite the second-ranked applicant to enter talks. Breeze in a statement today expressed doubts over
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