Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) on Monday proposed measures to protect the city, which was hit worst by its dengue fever epidemic last year, from future outbreaks, including setting up a national agency on dengue fever control and prevention.
An investigation into the outbreak found that it was caused by a water shortage early last year that led to many residents storing water in their homes, creating breeding grounds for mosquitoes that spread the disease, Lai said.
Other factors that contributed to the spread of the disease were high temperatures and heavy rainfall during summer; two powerful typhoons that made it difficult to control the spread of mosquitoes; and the Tainan City Government’s lack of manpower and resources, Lai said.
He urged the central government to adopt measures proposed by the city administration to control and prevent dengue fever outbreaks.
One of the measures envisions the establishment of a national dengue fever control and prevention institute in southern Taiwan, while another seeks to revise the regulations on epidemic disease control and prevention so that those with dengue fever can be forcibly kept at home, Lai said.
The city government is to urge the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to run dengue fever scans on inbound passengers coming from areas affected by dengue fever, and to incorporate rapid dengue fever diagnostic tests into the health checks performed on foreign workers entering the nation for the first time, he added.
The measures are necessary, as it was discovered that the main culprit behind last years’ outbreak was a new dengue fever type 2 strain that originated from Indonesia, Lai said, without elaborating on how the strain made its way to Tainan.
Another proposed measure is an initiative to inform the public about bottle and can recycling systems, and a request for the Environmental Protection Administration to reconsider the existing system, he said.
The measures also include having the Ministry of the Interior launch a study on the architectural structure of buildings in southern regions that have water storage facilities, and urging the Ministry of Education to train specialists on insect-borne diseases.
The city recorded 22,752 reported cases of dengue fever between May 21 last year — when the first confirmed case was reported — and the end of last month, Tainan Department of Health Director Lin Sheng-che (林聖哲) said, adding that, of those who were infected, 112 people died.
CDC statistics released on Monday showed that the total number of confirmed dengue fever infections reached 43,280 cases nationwide between May last year and Monday, with 22,756 cases in Tainan and 19,597 in Kaohsiung.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
RSS