Why Taiwan, long a COVID success story, is seeing a record surge in cases
CBSN
Hong Kong — Nearly a year and a half after COVID-19 started its surge across the planet, the streets of Taiwan's capital Taipei only now stand strangely empty. Bustling night markets for post-sunset stir-fry and steaming noodles, streets with constant streams of buzzing mopeds and the raucous bar district of Ximending, where locals and foreigners drink under the skies, have all fallen silent.
It's a stark reversal of fortunes. Throughout 2020, Taiwan was held up as one of the world's greatest coronavirus success stories — a streak of 253 days without a single reported infection, from April until December.On May 7, health influencer Paul Saladino, M.D.. posted a video to his X account that promoted feeding "raw dairy" to infants. The post received over 90,000 views and sparked strong backlash before it was removed the following day. Saladino regularly advocates for "animal-based" diets featuring raw milk, including on his TikTok channel where he has over half a million followers.
Everywhere you look, things are getting more complicated. Our phones have over a thousand settings. Showerheads come with apps. Cars have touchscreens. Ovens have touchscreens. "There's no doubt that 'featuritis' is real," said design consultant Jakob Nielsen. "Most of these things are too complicated."
New research is adding to the evidence linking ultra-processed foods to health concerns. The study tracked people's habits over 30 years and found those who reported eating more of certain ultra-processed foods had a slightly higher risk of death — with four categories of foods found to be the biggest culprits.