The Central Epidemic Command Center for dengue fever yesterday announced it is to cease operating due to the epidemic being stabilized and that normal prevention measures would be taken over by regular government agencies.
The command center was established in September last year, with Vice Premier Chang Shan-cheng (張善政) put in charge.
Centers for Disease Control Director-General Steve Kuo (郭旭崧) yesterday said that because the epidemic has been stabilized, with the weekly reported cases in Tainan steadily dropping for the past 16 weeks, the command center would close.
Kuo said the centers and the Environmental Protection Administration would coordinate to continue monitoring the dengue fever situation. He said that the future strategy for dengue fever prevention would be “monitoring data, ecological mosquito prevention, rapid testing and incident reporting, and prevention measures for high risk groups.”
Integrated data about dengue fever cases collected by various government agencies would allow the centers to create a map that shows the latest dynamic information on infection clusters, cases reported at hospitals and weather reports.
That would allow the centers to decide on the best prevention measures, he said.
Kuo said that because some people do not visit a doctor when they have dengue fever symptoms, as they are afraid of causing trouble for their neighborhood, ecological mosquito prevention measures would also be considered.
The centers has already implemented a rapid dengue fever screening test at the nation’s four international airports to reduce the number of imported infections, he said, adding that it is also discussing with the Tainan and Kaohsiung governments about the possibility of implementing a vaccination program, which would reduce the death rate, especially of people aged 60 and above.
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