Compiled by EMALIN ZALANI, C. ARUNO and R. ARAVINTHAN
TAIWAN experienced a surge in influenza vaccinations following the death of actress Barbie Hsu, according to China Press.
The Taipei Health Department reported that over 6,000 people received flu shots at clinics across the island on Monday.
Health and Welfare Minister Chiu Tai-yuan announced that as of Feb 3, Taiwan still had an inventory of 160,000 doses of flu vaccine.
He urged the public to leave the remaining vaccines to the elderly and those with existing comorbidities.
Taiwan saw historic highs of people seeking treatment at emergency departments for flu-like symptoms, reaching around 160,000 visits in the week of Jan 19. This marked a 12.5% increase from the week before, according to the Taiwan Centres for Disease Control.
It also announced that between Oct 1 last year and Feb 2 this year, there were 641 severe flu cases and 132 flu-related deaths, with 90% of those affected unvaccinated.
Hsu, 48, died of pneumonia on Feb 2 while holidaying in Japan. She was believed to have contracted the virus in Taiwan.
> The daily also reported that a restaurant operator in Melaka sparked a debate online after charging its customers RM2 for ice cubes.
The incident took place at a popular satay celup eatery when a group of five customers who brought their own bottled water asked the operator for some ice.
When the bill came, the customers found that they were charged RM2 for the ice.
“I collected an additional RM2, and (they) had the gall to call me a cheating shop!” the operator wrote on social media.
He said he does not mind customers bringing their own drinks to the shop.
The reason for the RM2 charge, he explained, was to recoup the cost of providing ice and the cost of cleaning the seven glasses the customers used.
Some netizens thought the operator had the right to charge for ice and the use of glasses.
Others, however, said the operator should have explained the cost to the customer beforehand to avoid a dispute.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.
