This year’s first Zika virus case was yesterday confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), which also said it had recorded five new measles cases.
A teenage boy was with his family visiting relatives in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City from Feb. 5, and developed a fever on Thursday last week, the centers said.
When he returned to Taiwan on Friday last week, the boy was screened for infection at the airport quarantine station due to his fever, the centers said.
The results came back yesterday, with the boy testing positive for the Zika virus, it said.
While his symptoms have already improved and his family members have not developed similar symptoms, the boy is to be quarantined at home until Monday next week, the centers said.
Twenty-one Zika virus cases have been confirmed in Taiwan since 2016, all of which were contracted in other countries — mostly Southeast Asian countries.
The centers maintained its level two travel advisory for Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Singapore, India and the Maldives, as well as a few areas where the disease is still spreading.
People are advised to take preventive measures against mosquito bites and sexual transmission of the disease in those areas, the centers said.
The centers on Tuesday confirmed two indigenous cases of measles — a woman in her 20s and an eight-month-old baby — and yesterday reported another three — two women and a man, all in their 30s.
They all live in northern Taiwan.
The woman in her 20s and the three people in their 30s were all in contact with a patient who was infected with measles in Vietnam, the centers said, adding that the infant’s infection source is still under investigation.
The two women who were yesterday confirmed to have measles worked at a clinic in Taipei where the patient sought treatment, and the man who contracted it was a family member who had accompanied the patient to a hospital, it said.
As the woman in her twenties had traveled on a bus in Taipei and the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit system on Feb. 14 during the communicable period, and the others who were infected had also visited public spaces in Taipei, people who have measles symptoms are advised to wear a mask and immediately seek medical treatment, the centers said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it