The government is to establish a dedicated center to improve disease prevention, injecting NT$4 billion (US$132.88 million) over the next seven years into the project, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka said yesterday.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) on Wednesday approved a Ministry of Health and Welfare proposal to build a center for disease prevention, which is to be in the ministry’s compounds in Taipei’s Nangang District (南港), with construction scheduled to begin next year and be completed in 2027, Kolas said.
The center would fight known viruses and communicable diseases, with key tasks including inspection efforts, and research and development of vaccines and biopharmaceuticals, Kolas said, adding that it would also serve as a hub to ration out goods during epidemics.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Starting next year, costs would be included in annual funds for general public affairs, Kolas said, adding that no special funds would be used for the project.
In other developments, a Cabinet official said that from Wednesday next week, people would be able to preorder their two-weekly quota of masks at the nation’s four major convenience store chains.
People would be able to preorder masks every two weeks at FamilyMart, 7-Eleven, OK Mart and Hi-Life convenience stores using their National Health Insurance (NHI) cards, the official said.
They would also be able to have masks delivered to Pxmart or Simple Mart outlets, but the supermarket chains cannot take orders, as they do not have NHI card readers, the official said.
Payment methods for the store system have yet to be determined, the official said.
Convenience store services are expected to ease congestion at NHI-affiliated pharmacies, where people usually have to wait in long lines to buy masks.
The Cabinet official said that 240 of the more than 6,000 designated pharmacies have asked to withdraw from the program because they do not have enough staff to handle daily sales.
Since the mask rationing program started on Jan. 31, the quota for each person has been increased from two to three per seven days and then to nine per 14 days, with the sales platform expanding from pharmacies to a government Web site and a mobile app.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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