Eight more patients with influenza A(H1N1), or swine flu, had been hospitalized as of noon yesterday, bringing the total number of hospitalized cases in Taiwan to 112, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said.
The CDC estimated that new cases of swine flu were rising by more than 3,000 each day, but only about 2,800 had sought outpatient medical attention.
About 600 to 700 new cases a day have been checking into emergency rooms, although the majority have only had mild symptoms, the CDC said.
PHOTO: LIAO CHEN-HUEI, TAIPEI TIMES
The swine flu epidemic has escalated, driving up sales of face masks around the country, but it has not reached its peak yet, Department of Health Minister Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良) and CDC Director-General Steve Kuo (郭旭崧) said.
Of the 112 patients who have been hospitalized, 37 were still in hospital, 69 had been discharged and six had died, the CDC said.
Meanwhile, Department of Health Deputy Minister Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳) said yesterday that students with A(H1N1) influenza do not need to be “quarantined.”
“A quarantine dorm is not an accurate term as a sick student can still leave the dorm to buy lunch if necessary,” Chang said at the CDC yesterday morning.
Chang was referring to the first case on National Taiwan University’s campus on Thursday. School authorities immediately put the student in an isolated men’s dorm, which was referred to as a “quarantine dorm.”
Amid public concern whether the CDC’s so-called “325” policy for canceling classes should be amended to “327,” the center said it would stick to its original policy after a meeting led by Vice Premier Paul Chiu (邱正雄) yesterday morning.
The “325” policy refers to canceling a class for five days if more than two students from the same class are infected with swine flu within three days.
The Central Epidemic Command Center said yesterday that this standard would apply to all schools up to freshman level in college, in response to queries by local governments on whether class cancelations should be extended to seven days.
“We decided to stick with the original policy because we do not want to interrupt class schedules,” Chiu said.
Chang said that canceling classes would not stop swine flu infections on campuses but it would help slow down the epidemic.
He said that the government decided against extending it to seven days because in most cases, the virus would have subsided after the fourth day.
“We will reconsider and adjust the standard when vaccines become available,” Chang said.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
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