Taoyuan General Hospital. CNA file photo
Taipei, Jan. 27 (CNA) The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Wednesday announced a precautionary ban on inpatient visits at hospitals in Taipei, New Taipei and Taoyuan in northern Taiwan until Feb. 9.
Health Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, made the announcement at a press briefing on the COVID-19 outbreak in Taiwan, saying the ban will go into effect immediately.
The new restriction was introduced in the wake of a COVID-19 cluster infection that started at Taoyuan General Hospital on Jan. 12 and has since resulted in 15 domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases.
Since then the health authorities have spared no effort to stop the cluster infection from spiraling out of control.
CNA photo Jan. 27, 2021
Taipei, Jan. 27 (CNA) Scientists at Taiwan s top research institute Academia Sinica said Wednesday they are honing in on three traditional Chinese herbal medicines and two prescription drugs that have shown promising results against the COVID-19 virus in laboratory studies.
The two prescription pharmaceuticals are the anti-malaria drug Mefloquine, which was the most effective one in the study, and the HIV treatment Nelfinavir, said Hung Shang-cheng (洪上程), one of the leading researchers, at a press conference.
Promising results were also obtained with the Chinese herbal medicines Ganoderma lucidum, a kind of fungus; Perilla frutescens, a plant more commonly known as perilla; and the mint species Mentha haplocalyx, Hung said.
Taipei book fair opens online with virtual exhibits, events
01/26/2021 07:28 PM
Image from the Taipei Book Fair website
Taipei, Jan. 26 (CNA) The 2021 Taipei International Book Exhibition (TIBE) opened virtually on Tuesday, giving readers the opportunity to browse through exhibits and attend livestreamed events from the comfort of their own homes.
This year s book fair was originally set to be held both in person and online from Jan. 26-31. Organizers, however, decided to cancel the in-person portion last week, due to concerns sparked by a domestic cluster infection of COVID-19 that surfaced earlier this month.
Speaking at the book fair s opening on Tuesday, Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te (李永得) said that canceling the physical part of the event was an extremely difficult decision as many publishers and readers were looking forward to it.
Temperatures to drop from Saturday afternoon: CWB
01/23/2021 02:37 PM
CNA file photo
Taipei, Jan. 23 (CNA) Temperatures across Taiwan are expected to drop with the arrival of a cold front on Saturday afternoon, ending a spell of unseasonably warm weather that brought highs into the mid- to upper-20s this week, according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB).
Daytime highs Saturday are forecast to reach 22-23 degrees Celsius in the north and 26-29 degrees in other regions, with the possibility of rain limited to the north and east, the weather bureau said.
Beginning in the afternoon, however, a southward moving cold front will bring the mercury down to around 15-17 degrees in northern and western Taiwan and 18-20 degrees in Hualien and Taitung on the east coast, the CWB said.
Academia Sinica launches air quality, climate change research centers
01/21/2021 06:40 PM
Image courtesy of Academia Sinica
Taipei, Jan. 21 (CNA) Taiwan s Academia Sinica on Wednesday announced the establishment of two new research centers devoted to the study of air quality and man-made climate change.
The Air Quality Research Center and the Anthropogenic Climate Change Center will operate under the institute s Research Center for Environmental Changes (RCEC) and will apply scientific analysis to issues of major social concern, Academia Sinica President James C. Liao (廖俊智) said.
The Air Quality Research Center will integrate air quality data and scientific research from institutions across the country, analyze the major causes of pollution, and publish recommendations for pollution control, according to RCEC research fellow Charles C.K. Chou (周崇光).