The Central Epidemics Command Center (CECC) yesterday confirmed another three cases of Tamiflu-resistant A(H1N1) influenza, but said that the virus had not spread.
“The most important thing is that all these patients have fully recovered,” said Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳), deputy minister for the Department of Health.
Chang said that the three patients included a five-year-old girl and a two-year-old girl in Taipei and a 12-year-old girl in Taichung. Physicians could not confirm whether the three girls were infected by Tamiflu-resistant virus or if the virus went through a mutation process in them.
The deputy minister said that there have been a total of 55 instances of Tamiflu-resistant A(H1N1) in the world and five of them had occurred in Taiwan.
“We have yet to consider potential changes in our Tamiflu policy at the moment,” Chang said.
SOLDIERS
Meanwhile, the military said that approximately 4,000 doses of swine flu vaccine, which will be delivered in the near future, will be given to soldiers who have helped or are helping victims of Typhoon Morakot with reconstruction.
“These soldiers will be the priority, followed by military health workers,” said Lin Yao-hsiang (林曜祥), deputy director of the Military Medical Bureau’s Medical Affairs Department.
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Pilots, sailors and military personnel who work in an interior environment will be next in line for shots after military health workers.
Military personnel under the age of 18 will be the fourth priority, followed by soldiers aged up to 24 years old, and then those aged between 25 and 49. Those older than 50 will be the last priority group for the vaccine.
ROLE MODEL
Lin made his remarks during a press conference at the Ministry of National Defense yesterday morning, when he was awarded and recognized as a healthcare role model.
“We are expecting the swine flu vaccines to be delivered to us no later than tomorrow,” he said. “Once we receive the vaccines, we will put them to use immediately.”
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
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