Following a scare over the use of sedatives at preschools, free blood tests offered in Taipei over the past month found no traces of barbiturates in any of the 34 children tested, city officials announced on Friday.
The city government began offering the free tests to ease fears among parents after a New Taipei City preschool was in May accused of drugging children with sedatives.
The 34 preschoolers were tested from June 17 to Friday last week, but none of the tests came back positive for barbiturates, the city government’s education department said.
Photo: CNA
Last month, it also randomly checked 38 preschools, but found nothing suspicious, the department said.
The findings were in line with checks made on students in New Taipei City’s Sijhih (汐止) and Banciao (板橋) districts in relation to the scare.
The department said it had established standard operating procedures for teachers to follow when giving children medicine on behalf of their parents to avoid confusion and disputes.
The standard operating procedures require teachers to follow strict medication dispensing protocols adopted by nurses and pharmacists in Taiwan — known as the “three reads and five rights” — to prevent mistakes.
For example, medical staff are required to read the label of a drug once when retrieving it from the dispensing container, a second time when providing the drug and a third time when returning the drug to the container.
Medical professionals must also check they have the right patient, the right drug, the right time, the right dose and the right route when providing medication to people.
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park this weekend, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a theme food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances. Pokemon Go Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as photo attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs. Pokemon trainers could also experience the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area. Three PokeStops are to be set up in the park. Trainers are invited to take