Taiwan's health authorities have worked hard to prevent the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), but unfortunately the country lost its "zero community-acquired infection, zero death, zero export" record after a mass infection occurred at the Taipei Municipal Hoping Hospital.
The nation's fight against SARS has now entered a new phase, as the previous approach of simply screening individuals entering the country is no longer effective. President Chen Shui-bian (
Taipei Municipal Hoping Hospital was shut down after a mass infection was detected among medical personnel. All the patients and medical personnel at the hospital have been quarantined. Venues suspected of having been visited by possible SARS carriers are being sterilized. People suspected of having come into contact with SARS patients are being put under home quarantine. Such measures, coming without warning, have caught many people off guard. Some medical personnel at the hospital are finding these actions unacceptable. They have staged protests by putting up placards on the hospital's windows.
The unhappiness of those quarantined is understandable and we must thank them for the sacrifice they are making for the public's welfare. By having their freedom of movement temporarily curbed, they are making it possible to limit the SARS infection within specific areas. Confining both healthy people and suspected SARS patients in the same building may increase the possibility of healthy people being infected, but the risk is one thatmust be taken for the greater good.
In China, where SARS originated, the authorities lost the best opportunity to prevent the outbreak when they covered up the situation and rejected the World Health Organization's offers to help. Now SARS has become a public-health crisis in many countries. In March, we suggested that any contact with China be curtailed, in an effort to crank up international pressure to force China to face the outbreak. Now we make the same suggestion again, this time for self-protection.
Twelve countries have given travel warnings about Taiwan as a SARS-affected area. The SARS situation in China is a thousand times more serious than it is here. It is imperative and understandable for the government to adopt quarantine measures against China.
On Thursday, the Mainland Affairs Council announced control measures on travel across the Taiwan Strait based on the principle of "minimal control." This is the beginning of cross-strait quarantine measures. In light of the rapidly deteriorating situation in China and Hong Kong, "minimal control" measures are not enough. The government must adopt tougher controls and make it a rule to stop personal travel from China, allowing passage in exceptional cases only. It must do this to effectively implement all necessary preventive measures inside this country. If we do not nip SARS in the bud, all preventive measures may be futile.
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