The Ministry of Foreign Affairs raised the nation’s travel alert for Mexico to “red” as the number of suspected swine flu patients in the North American country kept rising yesterday.
A red alert means people should avoid all non-essential travel to Mexico until the crisis has subsided.
A yellow alert was issued for Canada and the US, with people traveling to these countries advised to exercise caution.
Taiwan’s representative office in Mexico City will continue to operate as usual, ministry spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) said.
Figures released by the Tourism Bureau showed that 78 Taiwanese tourists on a cruise tour were still on their way to Mexico yesterday.
Chen said three or four Taiwanese high school exchange students at King’s-Edgehill private high school in Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada, were among a group of 17 people who were quarantined amid concern that they might have contracted the H1N1 swine flu virus.
None of the 17 people was seriously ill, he added.
The ministry said 40 students from Taiwan were participating in an exchange program at the school.
The King’s-Edgehill School Web site said yesterday that four of its students had been confirmed to have contracted swine flu, and that some students had been released from quarantine.
At press time, the ministry remained unable to determine if the Taiwanese students were among the ones released from quarantine.
Liu Ching-jen (劉慶仁), director of the Ministry of Education’s Bureau of International Cultural and Educational Relations, said there were no Taiwanese students in Mexico.
“We have nonetheless urged officials at our representative offices in Los Angeles and Houston to alert Taiwanese students in the two cities because of their proximity to Mexico,” Liu said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHELLEY SHAN AND FLORA WANG
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old