ER wards packed with patients as flu sweeps Taiwan

ER wards packed with patients as flu sweeps Taiwan

2025-02-11

The seasonal flu is sweeping Taiwan, and emergency rooms around Taiwan are overburdened. On Tuesday morning, 130 patients were waiting for a bed at National Taiwan University Hospital. Wait times at other hospitals were also in the dozens of patients. Doctors remind the general public to avoid going to hospitals if symptoms aren’t severe. Instead, it’s best to go to a local clinic to not put excessive pressure on the medical centers.

ER patients wait for a bed in the corridor, sitting and lying down. Emergency cases are peaking, and hospitals are having trouble finding space for everyone.

Chang Chih-hua
Shin-Kong Wu Ho Su Memorial Hospital
We don’t have space for all the patients. So they are in the corridors, in the lobby… It’s the same in the south. The ERs there are really overcrowded.

According to live data from several hospitals, 130 ER patients were waiting for a bed at NTU Hospital at 9 a.m. At the Tri-Service General Hospital the number was 52. And at Taipei Veterans General Hospital, it’s 32.

Voice of Liu Yu-ching
Ministry of Health and Welfare
If hospitals are having trouble with full bed capacity, they can assist each other within the same region via referrals and transfer.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare says people with small ailments should head to a local clinic, and leave big medical centers for patients with serious problems. Emergency doctors say most patients come in with respiratory diseases such as the flu, and urge the general public to get vaccinated. In related news, this coming October, the government’s free flu vaccine program will offer trivalent shots instead of quadrivalent shots. Experts say the change will not reduce the protective effect of the vaccine.

Huang Chien-hsien
Infectious Diseases Society of Taiwan
The B/Yamagata strain hasn’t been dominant for a long time, and it’s not expected to become more prevalent quickly. Quadrivalent vaccines are only necessary if many B/Yamagata infections are expected.

The World Health Organization has recommended leaving the B/Yamagata strain out of vaccines, noting the potential risk of a leak from a manufacturing plant that could re-release the strain into the community.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

全台急診室"病床爆滿" 衛福部:協助各區域轉診分流

2025-02-11

流感還在流行期，全台醫院再傳急診病床爆滿，今天上午9點統計，台大醫院急診等待病床民眾仍有130人，衛福部表示，若醫院出現滿床難以調度情形，會協助區域內轉診分流，也呼籲民眾，小病先到診所，大病再去醫學中心。

病患在急診室走廊等待病床，有的坐著有的躺著，因為急診量達到高峰，真的快塞不下了。

[[新光醫院急診醫師張志華]]
“因為病人沒地方擺，走廊啊，大廳啊，南部的急診也是，他們寫紫爆”

看看上午9點統計的急診即時資訊，醫學中心台大醫院，等待病床的急診患者就有130人，三總也有52人，台北榮總也有32人。

[[聲源:衛福部醫事司副司長劉玉菁]]
“如果個別醫院確實有，滿床難以負荷的情形，那我們也會有區域內，彼此的協助，所以會做，區域內轉診的分流”

衛福部也呼籲民眾，小病先到診所，大病再去醫學中心，急診醫研判今年幾乎都是流感等呼吸道症狀，呼籲民眾還是要定期施打流感疫苗，而今年10月將施打的公費流感疫苗，從原本的四價變成三價，有民眾認為會降低保護力？醫師指出不用擔心。

[[台灣感染症醫學會理事黃建賢]]
“山形株已經好久沒有流行了，預期它要流行也沒有那麼快，山形株比較多的時候，才會需要用到四價的疫苗”

世衛評估若繼續使用山型株病毒製造疫苗，病毒將有機會洩漏到社區，因此變為施打三價疫苗。

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Changes have come for Team Taiwan’s roster at the upcoming World Baseball Classic qualifiers. Catcher Lyle Lin has announced he’s signed a minor league contract with the Oakland Athletics, and will be joining spring training for the first time. As such, he won’t be joining Team Taiwan in the WBC.

Tsai Chi-chang
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I’m sure there are many people from all six baseball clubs interested in what is happening with him. We hope he’ll find a spot for himself in the MLB. We wish him the best and we hope he’ll succeed in pursuing his dreams. He’s very talented. All he needed was a chance.

Lyle Lin, 27, completed high school in the US to pursue his baseball dream. In 2019, he played for the Arizona Diamondbacks in the minor league, and later became the first Taiwanese player to be selected and signed by the MLB draft process. But not all has been smooth sailing. In 2023, he left the Diamondbacks and signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. He returned to the Diamondbacks in 2024, but did not remain with the team after the end of the season.

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I hope to play in professional baseball in the US. I’ve been there for a long time, and I have a home abroad.

Lin is back on track to chasing his MLB dream, with loyal fans rooting for him.

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A husband-and-wife duo in Chiayi have taken a drastic career change that has earned them awards from the central government. Both of them used to be fully dedicated to education, having climbed their career ladders to become elementary school principals. Then, when they were both in their 50s, the duo retired to become farmers. They now run an award-winning dragon fruit farm in Taibao.

Lee Jung-shan and Wu Chu-yu are ready to hit the fields. Clearing out weeds and harvesting dragon fruit, nothing gets in the way of this husband-and-wife duo. Though they are farmers now, they both used to be elementary school principals.

Lee Jung-shan
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Back then I thought I’d want a plot of land to tend to and preserve after retiring. After all, the farms of Taiwan have been keeping people fed for hundreds of years.

Wu Chu-yu
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It was quite an interesting experience. Back then, I had the dream of living the farm life, so I decided to get into this profession. I have gained so much from the past 10 years doing this. It’s all been fantastic.

The couple loves the land, and decided to buy a field in Taibao to get started as farmers. They do all sorts of work in their orchard, and their pesticide-free dragon fruits have received raving reviews. What’s more, they’ve been recognized with prestigious awards by the Council of Agriculture and the Agriculture and Food Agency.

Lee Jung-shan
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It was a huge honor. The Agriculture and Food Agency’s awards ceremony was held at the Grand Hotel in Taipei, it was a fancy ceremony. This other trophy is from the Council of Agriculture, as it was known then. We were presented the award at the auditorium in the Council of Agriculture itself.

Cheng Shu-fen
Taibao mayor
These two former principals have the same philosophy regarding agriculture, and their efforts have yielded outstanding results that are in no way inferior to their achievements in the field of education.

The two principals turned farmers have not forgotten their roots in education. Besides dedicating themselves to the fields, they are also sharing their knowledge so that children and customers can learn from their experience.

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Taiwanese tourist in Japan gets trapped under snowy tree

The “snow monsters” in Japan’s Tohoku region attract many tourists every year. It’s a natural phenomenon in the northeast of Japan’s main island, where coniferous trees get a thick dusting of snow from late December to early March. Though it’s a marvelous sight, it can also be dangerous. Many tourists who get a little too close to the trees eventually find themselves trapped deep in snow. FTV got in touch with one such victim to find out more.

Entire trees covered in snow to form these magnificent “snow monsters” in Japan’s Tohoku Region. But do exercise caution if you’re there in person.

Voice of Mr. Chen (voice altered)
Fell into tree well
After I fell down the snow trap, the soft, fluffy snow kept collapsing. I realized what I had under my feet wasn’t solid ground but soft, fluffy snow. It’s like quicksand. The more you struggle, or the more weight you exert from above, the deeper the trap.

This past Saturday, Mr. Chen, a Taiwanese tourist, went to see the snow monsters in the Hakkōda Mountains in Aomori, Japan. The area wasn’t cordoned off, so Chen went up to a snow monster for a picture. Then, he fell into a tree well 1.5m deep. He started to struggle when he fell, but the snow was like quicksand and eventually buried him under.

Voice of Mr. Chen (voice altered)
Fell into tree well
I kept yelling in Japanese, “Help! Help! Help! Can someone please help?” I kept yelling non-stop for so long, kept yelling despite both my legs becoming numb, but no one heard me. I thought, would it be possible that no matter how I kept yelling, no one would hear me? Thinking of that really sent me into despair.

Fortunately, other tourists, also Taiwanese, heard his cries for help and called upon the staff onsite. Mr. Chen was finally lifted out after being trapped for almost an hour.

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I advise carrying a whistle. The snow absorbs sound waves, making human voices inaudible. The snow monsters are formed when the tree leaves get covered in snow. There’s a hollow space around the tree trunk, called a tree well. It can be more than 10m deep.

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I would recommend recreation parks more likely to have safety warning signage, such as Mount Zao. Try to keep a distance of around 3m to 5m. I think it’s also very important to have someone travel with you and don’t leave the group.

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2024 was a fantastic year for Taiwanese sports. From the Paris Olympics to the baseball team’s Premier12 victory, Taiwan’s athletes shined last year. Any products related to their achievements have also been snapped up. Chunghwa Post has seized the opportunity, selling an astounding number of themed stamps. But did you know that you can make your own too? Many people make stamps with their wedding or children’s photos to preserve their cherished memories.

Here at the Taipei branch of the Postal Museum, you can take photos like with these cute mail carriers, then choose five to seven of your favorites. After just a few taps and not even 20 minutes, these one-of-a-kind stamps are born!

The staff will help arrange them and adjust the colors. Portrait or landscape, both are OK. Chunghwa Post in 2000 began offering customization services, allowing customers to use their own photos to make their stamps more meaningful.

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The service isn’t just used by locals to commemorate life events. Tourists also like to create their own stamps when visiting Taiwan. These special rubber stamps are also available for use. It’s so popular that the Beimen branch easily sells 500 per month on average.

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