HEALTH
Mideast travelers warned
People planning to travel to the Middle East should pay attention to their personal hygiene, as the season for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has arrived, the Centers for Disease Control said yesterday. The centers is urging Middle East-bound travelers to avoid visiting farmland and having contact with camels or people with respiratory symptoms. The disease tends to become prevalent from this month and peak in September, the centers said, adding that no cases have been confirmed in Taiwan. The centers said symptoms of MERS-CoV include fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties.
TRAVEL
Check visa rules: MOFA
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is urging travelers to check in advance the requirements for visa-free entry to their destination, after 158 people were denied entry to foreign countries last year because they could not present the necessary documents. The number is a 45 percent increase from 2009, the ministry said.
EARTHQUAKE
Quake jolts eastern areas
A magnitude 4 earthquake jolted eastern Taiwan at 5:37pm yesterday, the Central Weather Bureau reported. The earthquake’s epicenter was at sea about 37.6km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 8.4km, bureau officials said. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), where it measured 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale. On Saturday last week, Yilan County was also rattled by two earthquakes measuring at 3.5 and 3.7 respectively on the Richter scale.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese