HEALTH
CDC warns of MERS risks
Travelers to the Middle East should remain vigilant to the threat of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), a deadly infectious disease gripping that region, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. A CDC travel advisory for Saudi Arabia remains at level 2, meaning that travelers are urged to be on the alert and take precautions, the agency said. A level 1 warning, which only advises travelers to be cautious, remains in place for Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, it said. The agency uses a three-tier warning system, with level 3 advising against travel to the destination. On Saturday, South Korea reported an imported case of MERS in a 61-year-old man returning from Kuwait. It was the first report of MERS in South Korea since July 2015, reports said. The incubation period for MERS is two to 14 days, CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said, adding that most people who are diagnosed with MERS-CoV display flu-like symptoms, including fever, coughing and shortness of breath.
TRAVEL ADVISORY
State of emergency in Belize
The Bureau of Consular Affairs yesterday cautioned visitors to Belize to remain vigilant, as the Central American nation has declared a state of emergency in the south of Belize City. Due to escalating criminal activity in the area, Belize Governor-General Colville Young has declared a 30-day state of emergency that started on Wednesday last week, the bureau said. Taiwanese in the country are advised to mind their safety, avoid crowded places and stay informed of the latest developments, it said. In the event of an emergency, Taiwanese in Belize can reach the Republic of China Embassy in Belize City at 501-601-1493.
AGRICULTURE
Produce prices hit year high
Average wholesale prices of vegetables in Taipei reached NT$42.3 per kilogram on Sunday, the highest this year and a 5 percent hike from Saturday, in the wake of massive flooding caused by torrential rain in southern Taiwan. Prices that high were last recorded on Oct. 29 last year, when they reached a peak of NT$44.22 because of tight supply at the beginning and end of a season. Vegetable prices in the Taipei wholesale market have been higher than NT$40 per kilogram since Sept. 5, after heavy rain triggered flooding in southern Taiwan on Aug. 23, and passed NT$40 for the first time this year on Aug. 25. Taipei Market Administration Office Secretary-General Wang Meng-lung (王夢龍) said that his office was closely monitoring prices and would take price-stabilizing measures if necessary.
TRAFFIC
E-biker found driving drunk
An Indonesian resident is being investigated by police for riding an electric bicycle under the influence of alcohol and could be charged with an offense against public safety after he was hit by a car in Nantou City on Saturday, the Nantou Police Department said. The man, who was driving an electric bike carrying another person, is believed to have run a red light before being hit at a crossroads. The two people were taken to a nearby hospital, where they were found to have sustained only flesh wounds, police said. A test found that the driver of the electric bicycle had a blood alcohol content of 0.45 milligrams per liter. Local residents have complained on social media that migrant workers on electric bikes do not observe traffic rules. About 10,000 foreigners work in Nantou County, including 6,000 at Nang Kung Industrial Park, Liu said.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
REVENGE TRAVEL: A surge in ticket prices should ease this year, but inflation would likely keep tickets at a higher price than before the pandemic Scoot is to offer six additional flights between Singapore and Northeast Asia, with all routes transiting Taipei from April 1, as the budget airline continues to resume operations that were paused during the COVID-19 pandemic, a Scoot official said on Thursday. Vice president of sales Lee Yong Sin (李榮新) said at a gathering with reporters in Taipei that the number of flights from Singapore to Japan and South Korea with a stop in Taiwan would increase from 15 to 21 each week. That change means the number of the Singapore-Taiwan-Tokyo flights per week would increase from seven to 12, while Singapore-Taiwan-Seoul
BAD NEIGHBORS: China took fourth place among countries spreading disinformation, with Hong Kong being used as a hub to spread propaganda, a V-Dem study found Taiwan has been rated as the country most affected by disinformation for the 11th consecutive year in a study by the global research project Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem). The nation continues to be a target of disinformation originating from China, and Hong Kong is increasingly being used as a base from which to disseminate that disinformation, the report said. After Taiwan, Latvia and Palestine ranked second and third respectively, while Nicaragua, North Korea, Venezuela and China, in that order, were the countries that spread the most disinformation, the report said. Each country listed in the report was given a score,
POOR PREPARATION: Cultures can form on food that is out of refrigeration for too long and cooking does not reliably neutralize their toxins, an epidemiologist said Medical professionals yesterday said that suspected food poisoning deaths revolving around a restaurant at Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 Store in Taipei could have been caused by one of several types of bacterium. Ho Mei-shang (何美鄉), an epidemiologist at Academia Sinica’s Institute of Biomedical Sciences, wrote on Facebook that the death of a 39-year-old customer of the restaurant suggests the toxin involved was either “highly potent or present in massive large quantities.” People who ate at the restaurant showed symptoms within hours of consuming the food, suggesting that the poisoning resulted from contamination by a toxin and not infection of the