HEALTH
Enterovirus infections rising
About 200 more people than last week sought emergency treatment for enterovirus symptoms this week, a week-on-week increase of about 36 percent, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. A total of 635 enterovirus cases seen in the one-week period from Sunday last week through Saturday represented an emergency consultation rate of 4.35 per thousand, higher than the epidemic threshold of 2.7 per thousand, the CDC said. The numbers were up from 307, 427 and 465 emergency enterovirus cases reported in the three previous weeks, according to CDC data. The agency said that infants and children under five are at high risk of developing severe complications if they are infected by the virus. Medical attention should be sought immediately in cases where a child develops symptoms of the virus, such as a persistent fever, drowsiness, lethargy or continuous vomiting, the CDC said.
AVIATION
Plane’s engine fails: CAA
No casualties were reported yesterday after a TransAsia Airways flight experienced a brief failure in one of its twin engines, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said. Flight GE5042 departed from Magong Airport in Penghu County at 12:10pm and arrived at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) on time at 12:57pm. There were 16 passengers and four crew members on board the ATR 72-500 turboprop aircraft when the pilot reported at 12:20pm that one of the engines had failed. The pilot followed standard procedure and was able to restart the engine, CAA official Yu Yi-shi (喻宜式) said, adding that the plane landed with both engines functioning normally. The incident was not categorized as a flight accident, Yu said, citing the Aviation Safety Council, which said it would not launch an investigation.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard