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

medical worker about to swab inside somebody's mouth

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

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.

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) headquarters, Montreal, Canada

International Relations

February 16, 2020February 16, 2020 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment COVID-19, ICAO, International Civil Aviation Organization, WHO, World Health Organisation, Wuhan coronavirus

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) referred to Taiwan as a province of China in a press release forecasting the economic impact of the Wuhan coronavirus on international airlines, February 13. Using the World Health Organization’s (WHO) freshly-designated name COVID-19, which was coined to avoid reference to the original source of the epidemic in a capital city of a province of China, the press release noted that 70 airlines have cancelled international flights to and from China, and that a

International Relations

February 15, 2020February 15, 2020 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment Philippines, travel ban, WHO, World Health Organisation, Wuhan coronavirus

President Tsai Ing-wen expressed her gratitude to “friends from all walks of life” in the Philippines for their support, after a cabinet-level meeting resulted in a lifting of a travel ban by the Philippine government, today, February 14. Philippine presidential spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo announced that the Philippines has lifted the travel ban imposed Feb. 10, effective immediately. The announcement came after what was described as “a heated debate,” according to Taiwan’s Central News Agency, quoting anonymous Philippine officials. Thousands

A Chinese PLA H-6 bomber is flanked by an F-16 of the ROC Air Force

Military Affairs

February 11, 2020February 11, 2020 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment Chinese Communist Party, PLA, ROC military, Wuhan coronavirus

The People’s Liberation Army sent aircraft to circle Taiwan two days in a row, starting yesterday, February 9, provoking Taiwan into scrambling armed F-16 fighters to monitor the flights, and to broadcast a warning after a PLA H-6 bomber crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait today, February 10. President Tsai Ing-wen said via Facebook that choosing military actions during the virus outbreak made no sense, and was unnecessary, urging the Chinese government to concentrate efforts on quickly controlling

sign showing limit to one pack of toilet tissue per customer

Business and Economy

February 8, 2020February 8, 2020 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment crowd psychology, surgical masks, toilet paper, Wuhan coronavirus

Premier Su Tseng-chang, domestic tissue manufacturers, and supermarket executives rushed to reassure consumers that there were no impending toilet paper shortages as major supermarket chains reported signs of panic buying reminiscent of the toilet paper crisis of 2018, today, February 7. Costco began to restrict customers to purchasing one pack of certain brands of tissue after bulk-buying threatened to wipe shelves clean this morning . The panic buying is believed to have been sparked by messages on social media that

Wuhan coronavirus

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

Letter from Italy: Life under lock-down

ICAO misrepresents Taiwan as “province of China” in press release on economic impact of coronavirus

Taiwan president thanks Philippine friends after travel ban lifted

In the midst of virus battle, China launches provocative military flights around Taiwan

Wuhan virus panic threatens to spark toilet paper crisis 2.0