Why Taiwan hasn’t implemented universal COVID-19 screening: false positives would overwhelm medical resources

medical worker about to swab inside somebody's mouth

March 30, 2020January 25, 2021 Phillip Charlier 1 Comment COVID-19, virus screening

If universal screening for COVID-19 were implemented, people who tested positive, but who are not sick, would vastly overwhelm resources available for people who actually need them, according to experts at Tunghai University. SETN reports that The Department of Applied Physics at Tunghai University posted on Facebook that no matter how powerful the testing technology is, there will always be false positives, as well as false negatives. Statistics applied, even assuming the accuracy of the test method is so high

International Relations

March 29, 2020April 13, 2021 Phillip Charlier 11 Comments Bruce Aylward, COVID-19, WHO, Yvonne Tong

Assistant director-general of the World Health Organization Bruce Aylward appeared to go deaf, or to have experienced technical difficulties when a Hong Kong reporter asked him a question about Taiwan, then rudely hung up when the reporter repeated the question. During an interview for RTHK’s weekly current affairs show, The Pulse, Yvonne Tong asked Aylward: “Will the WHO reconsider Taiwan’s membership?” Aylward’s eyes and mouth twitched with a slightly pained expression, then followed a long, awkward silence with Aylward staring

Society

March 28, 2020March 29, 2020 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment drink-driving, police shooting, police-chase, Taoyuan City

Police in Taoyuan City shot at a car, accidentally hitting a woman sitting in the back seat, after the driver rammed a police vehicle, then drove at the officers last night, March 27. Officers from a police station in Bade District were on a routine patrol on Jieshou Road at around 11:40 pm when they spotted a suspected drunk driver, according reports in Liberty Times and United Daily News. The officers signaled the driver, a 48-year-old man named Wu (

Tanks rumble down a street in Yilan County, March 25, 2020

Military Affairs

March 26, 2020March 26, 2020 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment military exercises

Taiwan staged drills around the nation today, on the third day of a large-scale military exercise designed to test combat readiness to repel an invasion. There were tanks on the streets, but no citizens felt threatened: there was no Tank Man attempting to stop the soldiers from carrying out their mission. “The drills were designed to test the combat readiness of our forces and their responses to an all-out invasion by the enemy,” the Ministry of Defense (MOD) said. The

Breaking News

March 24, 2020March 24, 2020 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment illegal immigration

Six of 31 illegal immigrants who were intercepted off the coast of southern Taiwan three days ago have escaped from a detention facility in Taichung City, according to reports today, March 24. Six of seven men being held in a room at a former coast guard camp were found missing when the room was checked at 7:00 am this morning, according to SETN. An aluminium bar on a window had been forced open, allowing the six men to squeeze out

USS Barry fires missile in the South China Sea

Military Affairs

March 24, 2020March 24, 2020 Phillip Charlier 1 Comment 7th Fleet, South China Sea, US-navy

The US Navy’s 7th Fleet announced today that it had fired a missile during live fire exercises in the the South China Sea, and pundits are interpreting it as a strong signal to China. The 7th Fleet announced on Facebook today that the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, USS Barry, launched a missile, and conducted combat information center operations in support of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific. The message was hash-tagged #NavyReadiness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Wang Ting-yu

coast guard personnel and illegal immigrants on fishing boat

Crime and Criminals

March 22, 2020March 22, 2020 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment illegal immigration, people-smuggling

Police and coast guard officers seized a boat and arrested two Taiwanese and 31 Vietnamese nationals off the coast of Pingtung County, yesterday March 21. The people-smuggling bust comes at a time when Taiwan is ramping up efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including a ban on the entry of foreign nationals, and compulsory quarantines for residents returning from abroad. A joint police and coast guard task force responded after receiving intelligence about the people smuggling operation involving a

paramedics attend to victim of knife attack

Violent Crimes

March 21, 2020March 21, 2020 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment Nantou County, Shuili Township

A junior high school student in Nantou County bled to death after a classmate threw a craft knife at him during an altercation, yesterday, March 20. Two male students, named Lee and Liu had just finished school, and were buying drinks at a tea stand in Shuili Township, when one of the students called the other by an offensive nickname, according to reports in United Daily News and China Times. In the ensuing altercation, Liu pulled out a craft knife

Health and Safety

March 19, 2020March 20, 2020 Phillip Charlier 1 Comment COVID-19, false positive, Polymerase Chain Reaction Test, Wuhan coronavirus

To get a more complete picture of how widespread the virus is in the United States, “we’re going to need millions and millions and millions of tests,” said Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Md., during a CNN town hall on March 5, reported Science News. Yesterday, March 18, Taiwan reported a record daily number of “confirmed cases” of Covid-19 at 23, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 100. Eleven

Executive Yuan spokesperson Kolas Yotaka

Aviation

March 18, 2020March 18, 2020 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment Aviation industry, china-airlines, COVID-19, Starlux Airlines

The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) has proposed an NT$30 billion bailout loan package for Taiwan’s six airlines, but the plan has not yet been approved by the premier, according to Executive Yuan Spokesperson Kolas Yotaka. A previous bailout package was approved to the tune of NT$4.8 billion, but MOTC Minister Lin Chia-lung indicated recently that the figure may be raised to NT$30 billion because the aviation industry requires capital turnover. Today’s announcement comes on the same day that

International

March 15, 2020March 15, 2020 Joshua Rasia 0 Comment COVID-19, Italy, quarantine, Wuhan coronavirus

After living in China and Thailand, Joseph Rasia is in Italy, and plans to come to Taiwan later this year. LIFE IN THE RED, LOCK-DOWN AREA OF ITALY The ambient light and the clock ticking faster than before awake me. It’s 1:00 am and the TV screen shows the last decree from the Prime Minister: Lombardy is a red zone, and nobody without special permission, which could only be an emergency situation or working reasons can move to different areas.

Why Taiwan hasn’t implemented universal COVID-19 screening: false positives would overwhelm medical resources

WHO senior doctor pretends not to hear question about Taiwan, ends video call with Hong Kong reporter

Female passenger dies after police fire at car during drunk-driver chase

Taiwan displays military preparedness with exercise that sees tanks on the streets

Six illegal immigrants on the run after breaking out of detention facility

US Navy fires missile during live fire exercises in the South China Sea

In midst of epidemic prevention efforts, people smugglers attempt to land 31 Vietnam nationals

Junior high student dies after schoolmate throws knife

In the midst of viral panic, everybody ignores the problem of false positives, and they call for more tests

MOTC proposes NT$30 billion bailout fund, China Airlines issues NT$10 billion in bonds as aviation industry faces virus crisis

Letter from Italy: Life under lock-down