Health officials in Taipei County urged the public yesterday to take precautionary measures to avoid serious illness as the influenza season hits its peak.
The officials said, in one of the more severe cases, a 30-year-old nurse living in Banciao (板橋) died on Saturday after developing a fever and other flu symptoms a week earlier.
On Jan. 30, the nurse brought her two sons, aged three and five, to see a doctor because both children had runny noses and other flu symptoms. She later also developed a runny nose and a cough but did not pay attention to the symptoms. She went to see a doctor on Feb. 3 after the illness sapped her strength, but her condition deteriorated and she died of viral myocarditis four days later.
The officials warned that the peak flu season is not over yet, and said that those who develop flu-like symptoms should avoid going to public places, or wear face masks if they must go out.
To prevent the flu outbreak from spreading to schoolchildren, who are more vulnerable than other age groups, the Taipei County government has begun to distribute 86,800 facemasks to pupils in 217 public and private elementary schools in the county.
The officials said most cases of the flu this season are the swine H1N1 virus strain, which is resistant to Tamiflu, the mainstay antiviral drug.
Given that young children are at high risk for influenza complications, such as pneumococcal lung infection, county officials urged that children aged two to five who have not been vaccinated be immediately taken to health centers and medical institutions for free flu shots.
People who have flu symptoms, such as a fever, cough and sore throat, are also advised to immediately seek medical treatment and get plenty of rest to avoid developing serious, life-threatening complications such as pneumonia and encephalitis.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
RSS