The first round of African swine fever inspections at hog farms nationwide has found no abnormalities, and the first phase of containment has successfully prevented the outbreak from spreading, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Tu Wen-jane (杜文珍) said today.
“We can relax a bit, but we cannot let our guard down,” said Tu, who is leading the African swine fever response unit that was established after Taiwan’s first African swine fever case was detected in Taichung on Tuesday last week.
Taiwan still has only one confirmed case of the disease, she told a news conference at the Taichung branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency this morning.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
The unit has launched a targeted epidemiological investigation to identify any gaps in prevention efforts, it said.
Officials have also confirmed that all 78 pigs at the contaminated farm have been accounted for, and it is investigating potential violations at the facility, including failure to report kitchen waste disposal and the owner’s decision to medicate sick pigs after seeking telephone advice from an unlicensed veterinarian, the unit said.
It advised pig farmers to thoroughly disinfect facilities, strengthen controls on personnel and vehicle movement and make every effort to contain the virus.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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