While Taipei hospitals prepared for the worst yesterday in light of the pan-blue's rally outside of the Presidential Office, only seventeen protesters were sent to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries and conditions, according to the Taipei City Department of Health.
Seven of the protesters were admitted to hospital before the rally had officially started.
One protester had fallen and broken a bone, and others sustained minor external wounds. Most of the protesters were afflicted with symptoms brought about by blood pressure fluctuations, according to the department's records.
In preparation for any possible medical emergencies, city health officials raised the alertness level of the northern region's hospital network yesterday morning, putting National Taiwan University Hospital and five other medical centers in charge of taking care of any emergencies related to the pan-blue rally outside the Presidential Office.
In addition, the Taipei Municipal Wanfang Hospital and the Taipei City Women's and Children's Hospital were put in charge of providing on-site medical attention in ambulances stationed in the vicinity of the rally and providing staff and resources to the other hospitals if needed.
Taipei Municipal Renai Hospital, Chunghsin hospital and Hoping hospital, along with National Taiwan University Hospital and the Mackay Memorial Hospital, were on standby from 8am with fully staffed emergency rooms.
The DOH Bureau of Medical Affairs was in charge of overseeing the handling of any emergency situation and as such had arranged for bureau officials to be on duty all of yesterday. The bureau will return to normal working hours if no emergencies arise.
In addition, the bureau had arranged for cooperation with the Chungshan precinct of the Taipei City Police Department to aid in clearing a route for ambulances if the need arose.
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