Health and Safety

Public health, workplace, and public safety

Little girl safe after climbing out of 7th-floor window while grandma not paying attention

child on ledge outside window on 7th floor
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

A 7-year-old girl was seen climbing out the window of a 7th-floor apartment and walking along a narrow ledge of a residential building in Guishan District, Taoyuan City, Friday. The Taoyuan City Fire Department received reports about a little girl of a ledge of the building at 11:53 am, May 21, according to a Liberty Times report. The fire department dispatched 10 personnel to the scene, but fortunately, by the time firefighters arrived, the girl had already been taken back

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Death of toddler exposes danger of folding tables, importance of parental supervision

folding mahjong table
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

The danger posed by a common item of furniture found in almost every Taiwanese household has been put into the spotlight after a 3-year-old boy died clamped in the legs of a folding table in his home in Taichung City, yesterday, May 3. The parents of the toddler, named Chen, were putting their one-year-old to sleep while the 3-year-old boy was playing alone upstairs, according to reports, including Liberty Times. After around 20 minutes, the 57-year-old father went upstairs to

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Belarusian man dies in suspected accidental fall

courtyard where man was found
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

A Belarusian resident died after falling from a window of his 10th-floor apartment in Wanli District this morning, according to reports today, May 2. The community manager said that he heard a loud noise in the courtyard at around 10:00 am, and on inspection found the man lying on the ground. Paramedics rushed the man to Keelung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, but he was declared dead 30 minutes after arrival. Police investigating the case said that the man was 34-year-old

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7-year-old brain-dead after being thrown more than 20 times in judo class

judo coach and students
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 6 Comments

A 7-year-old boy suffered an intracranial hemorrhage and will remain in a vegetative state even if he survives being taken off the life support systems, doctors said, after performing surgery on the boy who was rushed to hospital after losing consciousness during a judo class in Taichung City, Wednesday, April 21. The first grade student of Nanyang Elementary School in Fengyuan District, Taichung City, named Huang, was in his second judo class, after enrolling April 8, when the coach allegedly

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Poll indicates majority of Taiwan’s population unwilling to swap masks for vaccine

online poll image
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , ,

A majority of people in Taiwan would prefer to continue wearing masks over taking a vaccine for COVID-19 according to poll results on Yahoo News. Yahoo began conducting the poll after the Minister of Health, Chen Shih-chung said that mask mandates will be lifted after “vaccination rates reach a certain level.” The statement was made as a response to a question during a press conference, April 21, in which a Reuters report was quoted pointing out that Israel [somewhat] relaxed

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24 believers suffer burn injuries after temple firewalking ceremony goes wrong

scene of firewalking injuries
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Twenty-two men and two women were treated in hospitals in Kaohsiung City this evening, after suffering burn injuries to their feet while participating a firewalking ceremony at a temple in Jiasian District. The Kaohsiung Fire Department received reports that multiple people had suffered burn injuries at 5:21 pm. Ambulances were dispatched from 7 fire stations in surrounding districts. Twenty people were taken to hospital in ambulances, while four sought medical treatment on their own. Among the 24 injured, two suffered

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Taiwan FDA distributing Hydroxychloroquine for free after WHO declares it ineffective for COVID treatment

hydroxychloroquine tablets
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 5 Comments ,

Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration is distributing Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) to more than 6,600 community pharmacies for free in a decision made a short time after the World Health Organization issued “strong advice” against using the drug for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19 last month. Taiwan’s health authorities purchased supplies of the drug in large quantities in the first quarter of 2020 as researchers and public health officials around the world initially supported the use of HCQ as a potential

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Man falls 13 floors to his death from overturned excavator on demolition site

excavator upside down
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A worker fell to his death on a demolition site in Kaohsiung City after the excavator he was operating on the 14th floor, overturned, and fell to the 13th floor, where it remained suspended upside down. The 30-year-old operator, named Hsu fell out of the excavator’s cab, plummeting 13 floors to the ground. An ambulance was dispatched to the site, but paramedics found that Hsu was obviously dead, and did not send him to hospital. The Kaohsiung City Labor Bureau

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Less than one-third of Taiwan’s medical professionals willing to take Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine

AstraZeneca vaccine vial and NHA data card
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Preliminary results from a survey of medical personnel working in hospitals that treat COVID-19 patients in Taiwan has revealed that less than 33% are willing to take the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said today, March 16. With results received from 90% of those asked to take the survey, 32.7% responded that they were willing to receive what many media agencies euphemistically refer to as “the jab.” “About 90 percent of medical personnel at those hospitals,

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Rumors afoot that Beijing is backing down on anal probes for COVID-19

anal probe for COVID-19
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Chinese language media outlets in Taiwan and other Chinese speaking communities outside of China are saying that people arriving in Beijing will no longer be subjected to anal probing for the “novel coronavirus” COVID-19, but there is no guarantee that foreigners will be exempt. Beijing authorities instigated anal swab testing in late January, ahead of the annual Lunar New Year Holidays. The Washington Post said at the time that “Some Chinese doctors say the science is there.” Fortunately, that meme

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Hundreds of students suffer suspected food poisoning at Pingtung County high school

students report to hospital after suspected food poisoning
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

More than 200 students have taken sick leave today, and 164 have reported to hospitals for treatment after a suspected food poisoning outbreak at a high school in Pingtung County yesterday, March 11. Students from Donggang High School began suffering symptoms such as stomach pains, vomiting, and diarrhea after the school-provided lunch yesterday, and began reporting to hospitals from late afternoon into the early hours of the morning. Of the approximately 2,000 students enrolled at the school, 231 students took

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