Doctors are urging older people and those with a history of cardiopulmonary disease to dress warmly and monitor their health after reports of several deaths resulting from the current cold front.
The Chiayi County Fire Department was called on Wednesday morning after family members found an 80-year-old woman not breathing in their home in Budai Township (布袋).
The woman was not hospitalized because she showed no vital signs when firefighters arrived, the fire department said.
Photo courtesy of the Hsinchu County Fire Department
She might have died due to complications associated with a chronic disease, the family said.
Older people and those with chronic conditions should take extra care to stay warm, especially protecting their necks, said Wu Tung-han (吳東翰), a physician in the Department of Thoracic Medicine at Ching Sheng Hospital in Chiayi County.
Keeping the neck warm can decrease the likelihood of an asthma attack or a pulmonary obstruction, Wu added.
Chiayi County often has heavy air pollution in winter and people should wear masks, Wu said, adding that people with chronic conditions should regularly take their medication.
The Changhua County Fire Department was called on Wednesday by the family of a 67-year-old man in Yuanlin Township (員林).
The early morning call said that the man was not breathing, and that the family thought he had experienced a heart attack, the fire department said.
The man was rushed to an emergency room, where he was later declared dead, although the hospital said that the drop in temperature was not definitively the cause of death.
Heart attacks tend to occur in winter, because contact with cold air causes blood vessels to suddenly contract, said Chu Chien-tung (朱建統), vice dean of Hung Jen Hospital in Yuanlin.
Those with hypertension, hyperglycemia or hyperlipidemia, and those who smoke, should dress warmly and be wary of sudden fluctuations in temperature, Chu said, adding that these conditions leave people prone to arteriosclerosis, putting them at high risk.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is unlikely to attempt an invasion of Taiwan during US president-elect Donald Trump’s time in office, Taiwanese and foreign academics said on Friday. Trump is set to begin his second term early next year. Xi’s ambition to establish China as a “true world power” has intensified over the years, but he would not initiate an invasion of Taiwan “in the near future,” as his top priority is to maintain the regime and his power, not unification, Tokyo Woman’s Christian University distinguished visiting professor and contemporary Chinese politics expert Akio Takahara said. Takahara made the comment at a
Upon its completion next year, the new Tamkang Bridge (淡江大橋) in New Taipei City is to be an important landmark in Taiwan, alongside Taipei 101, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) said today. The bridge is scheduled to be completed in December next year and open to the public in the first half of 2026, connecting New Taipei City’s Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里) districts. It is an asymmetric single-tower suspension bridge, nearly 70 stories tall, designed by world-famous architect Zaha Hadid. The bridge aims to alleviate traffic in Tamsui and on the Guandu Bridge (關渡大橋), in addition to increasing the
PROBLEMATIC: Popular hotpot restaurant chains were among the list of restaurants that failed the inspection and have been ordered to remove bad ingredients The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of hotpot ingredients in hotpot restaurants resulted in a 16.7 percent failure rate. Eight vegetables had excessive pesticide residue and two other items had aflatoxin and excessive preservatives. As the weather is getting colder, more people eat at hotpot restaurants so a random inspection of ingredients was conducted in October to ensure food safety, the department said. Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) said 60 different ingredients were tested: 15 high-risk vegetables, 15 processed food items, 10 soy-based food items, five meat items, five lamb items, five seafood items and five peanut powder
EXERCISES: A 2022 article by a Chinese intelligence expert identified at least six People’s Liberation Army assault boats hidden inside the Hong Kong-flagged ship A Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship that had been docked at Taichung Port and which previously took part in Chinese military exercises departed from the port on Saturday, the Taiwan International Ports Corp’s Taichung branch said yesterday. The statement came in response to a post on the social media platform X by Taiwan-based journalist Chris Horton that said the ship, the SCSC Fortune, had been docked at the port since Tuesday and questioned whether Taiwan has any rules regarding foreign civilian vessels that have participated in People’s Liberation Army (PLA) exercises. Horton referenced a 2022 article by Chinese intelligence expert Rod Lee that
RSS