TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — With the first cold winter wave there havs been 59 deaths attributed to the weather over the past two days.
According to county and city fire departments, emergency cases suddenly surged. Within the past two days, 69 people were sent to the hospital due to out-of-hospital-cardiac arrest (OHCA) attributed to the frigid temperatures Of these patients, doctors were only able to resuscitate 10, reported TVBS.
In northern Taiwan, the Taipei City Fire Department said that as of 5 p.m. on Thursday (Dec. 21), 10 people with OHCA had been sent to the hospital. Statistics from the New Taipei City Fire Department show that before noon on Thursday, 16 OHCA patients were sent to the hospital, eight of whom were resuscitated.
The cause of OHCA in a 21-day-old baby girl is still under investigation, with initial assessments suggesting a sudden illness. In addition, there was a sudden death suspected to be caused by hypothermia reported in Taoyuan City.
In Yilan County from Wednesday (Dec. 20) to Thursday morning, six patients were sent to the hospital for hypothermia and four were later pronounced dead. In Hualien County, a 90-year-old man's death was attributed to the cold weather.
According to Changhua County Fire Department, in just 24 hours from 8 a.m. Wednesday to 8 a.m. Thursday, the number of emergency cases surged to 53, of whom seven were declared dead.
In Yunlin County, Chiayi County, and Tainan City, 35 OHCA patients were sent to the hospital. In Tainan, 12 OHCA patients were sent to the hospital from Wednesday to Friday, while Kaohsiung City and Pingtung County each reported 10 OHCA patients,
From midnight Thursday to Friday morning, there were two OHCA cases attributed to cold weather. Of particular note was a 28-year-old professional soldier who suddenly collapsed and could not get up when setting out in the morning.
Despite being sent to the hospital for emergency medical treatment, the soldier did not survive. The preliminary assessment indicates that the cause of death may be related to a cardiovascular event triggered by low temperatures.
