A case of indigenous dengue fever and a case of imported Chikungunya fever were confirmed in Kaohsiung on Friday, the Centers for Disease Control said.
The dengue fever case involves a 77-year-old woman from Gushan District (鼓山), who started having signs of insomnia, diarrhea and fever on Tuesday.
She went to see a doctor on Thursday and was diagnosed with dengue fever on Friday.
The last confirmed case of dengue fever in Kaohsiung was reported on March 5, the centers said.
A case of Chikungunya fever was also reported in the same district on Friday.
A 37-year-old man, who traveled to Brazil on April 12 and returned home on Tuesday, was diagnosed with the disease after he began suffering from fever, as well as joint and muscle pain, on the following day.
The centers said as of Friday, four imported Chikungunya fever cases had been reported this year, with the latest case marking the 84th confirmed case since the disease was designated as a communicable disease in 2007.
All confirmed cases have been imported to Taiwan, mainly from Southeast Asian nations, the centers said.
Since the first indigenous case of Chikungunya fever in the Americas was reported in December 2013, the disease has spread rapidly across the region, especially in the Caribbean, with more than 1.9 million cases reported, the centers said.
The Kaohsiung Health Bureau said that it has disinfected the residences of the two patients, adding that as both dengue and Chikungunya fevers are spread by mosquitoes, the public should remove standing water from pots and containers to keep mosquito larvae at bay, especially in light of the rising temperatures and intermittent rain in southern Taiwan.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury