The Center for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported a fourth suspected SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) patient in Chiayi.
According to the CDC, the fourth case, a male, was traveling in Guangdong Province between March 4 and March 6 and returned to Taiwan via Hong Kong.
The man began to display SARS symptoms on March 13 and was admitted to hospital on March 17.
The local health department in Chiayi reported the case to the CDC yesterday afternoon, said CDC Director-General Chen Tsai-ching (陳再晉).
"So far we have received eight reports of SARS cases. But after checks the CDC has found four of these were not SARS," Chen said.
According to Tsai, the first two cases are now in National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) and the third case is in Ilan Hospital.
"Two of the cases have stabilized and have obvious improvements. One of them has not have any fever over the past three days," Chen said.
He added that specimens taken from the patients have been sent to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (USCDC) for further testing.
Premier Yu Shyi-kun yesterday pledged to study the possibility and necessity of offering direct charter flight services to China-based Taiwanese businesspeople to help them return home without having to pass through Hong Kong and Macao, where SARS cases have been reported as well.
"I'm calling on airline travelers not to worry much about the three possible cases of SARS, because the ventilation system of most passenger planes can efficiently change 50 percent of the air every three minutes," Yu said during a question-and-answer session in the legislature.
Yu made the remark in response to a question filed by PFP Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方), who asked about the Cabinet's plans for direct cross-strait flights.
Yu also said that the government does not care what name Taiwan uses to enter the WHO as long as it successfully gains accession to the organization.
"It doesn't matter whether we join the WHO as the Republic of China or Taiwan. What really matters is we're included in the world's health system," Yu said.
The premier made the remark in response to a question from TSU legislative leader Chien Lin Whei-jun (錢林慧君), who asked Yu for his view on the WHO's repeated rejection of Taipei's bid to join the organization.
Department of Health Director-General Twu Shiing-jer (涂醒哲) added that the problem lies not with Taiwan but with China, which has made continuous efforts to exclude Taiwan from the international community..
Also See Story:
DPP calls direct-flight plan irrational
TWO CASES: The five allegedly conspired with conglomerates, threatening the nation’s governance and subverting the rules of ethical conduct, a deputy chief prosecutor said Taipei prosecutors yesterday charged three legislators and one former lawmaker with contravening the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例) in a case linked to former Pacific Distribution Investment Co (太平洋流通) chairman Lee Heng-lung’s (李恆隆) battle with the Far Eastern Group (遠東集團) over ownership of the Pacific SOGO Department Store (太平洋崇光百貨) chain, while independent Legislator Chao Cheng-yu (趙正宇) was indicted in a separate case involving two funeral services companies and a plot of land in a national park. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Chen Chao-ming (陳超明) and Sufin Siluko (廖國棟), Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Su Chen-ching (蘇震清) and former New Power Party legislator
PENGHU INSPECTION: Taiwan cannot let its enemies strut around in its airspace, Tsai said, one day after a Chinese spokesman denied a median line exists in the Taiwan Strait Following China’s assertion on Monday that there is no “median line” in the Taiwan Strait, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday pledged to defend the nation’s airspace during a visit to an air force base in Penghu, saying that Taiwan cannot allow others to flex their military muscle in its territorial airspace. Tsai praised the “heroic performance” of the pilots of the Indigenous Defense Fighters who have been intercepting Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force planes in recent days. “I have a lot of confidence in you. As soldiers of the Republic of China [ROC], how could we let enemies strut
Swedish Member of Parliament Hampus Hagman is pushing for changing the name of the nation’s trade office in Taipei to signal improved relations with “Asia’s perhaps foremost democracy.” Hagman on Wednesday last week proposed renaming the Swedish Trade and Invest Council to “Sweden’s Office in Taipei,” following similar changes by other nations. The Swedish Trade and Invest Council, part of Business Sweden, is owned by the Swedish government and Swedish industry. Taiwan and Sweden share important values such as respect for democracy, human rights, the rule of law and freedom of speech, Hagman said in the motion, adding that the two nations
EFFICIENCY: The rules for Philippine arrivals were revised after 17.6% of arrivals with symptoms tested positive, compared with 0.7% of those with no symptoms Starting today, Chinese spouses who hold a reunion permit can apply to enter Taiwan and travelers without symptoms from the Philippines do not need to be tested for COVID-19 upon arrival, but are to be tested after a 14-day quarantine, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that from today, Chinese who are married to a Taiwanese citizen and hold a reunion permit can apply to the National Immigration Agency for entry into Taiwan. Chinese who are married to a foreign national and hold an accompanied reunion permit
RSS