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
The government is monitoring online rumors that a pneumonic plague outbreak has spread from Russia into China, and it might enhance quarantine measures, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. During a legislative meeting, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said that rumors had circulated that the disease had spread across several Chinese provinces. He asked Cho whether the government was prepared to prevent the disease spreading to Taiwan, given the volume of traffic between the two sides, and how concerned the government was about the alleged outbreak. The Ministry of Health and Welfare had implemented border quarantine measures after briefing the Executive
PATROL PARTNERS: The ‘Chiayi’ and the ‘Penghu’ departed for a two-day joint patrol of Palau’s exclusive economic zone, the CGA’s second diplomatic visit to the country The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) set a record for its southernmost deployment of a coast guard vessel as the vessels Chiayi and the Penghu reached Palau’s Pulo Anna Island on Saturday in a cooperative exercise between the two countries. The island, about 217 nautical miles (401km) southwest of Koror in the Palauan state of Sonsorol and 1,220 nautical miles from Taiwan’s southernmost point, Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), is the furthest south a CGA vessel has sailed. The two vessels are in Palau for the coast guard’s second diplomatic visit to the country. They docked at Malakal Harbor on Tuesday last week. The coast guard
EAST OF GUAM: Tropical Storm Champi is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon, but its effect on Taiwan is uncertain due to the presence of a high-pressure system Tropical Storm Champi formed yesterday and has the potential to increase in strength, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Forecasters are closely monitoring a Pacific high-pressure system that would dictate whether the storm turns north or moves toward Taiwan next week, the CWA said. The most likely scenario is that it turns northward after passing the Ryukyu Islands, CWA forecaster Cheng Chieh-jen (鄭傑仁) said. As of 8pm yesterday, Champi was east of Guam moving west-northwest at 20kph, CWA data showed. It had maximum sustained winds near the center of 72kph and gusts of up to 101kph, the data showed. If the Pacific high-pressure system
RIGHT TO DIPLOMACY: Under the UN Charter, every state has the right to conduct foreign policy free from external pressure, Belize said in a statement Belize and Paraguay on Monday condemned Beijing sanctions over their countries’ ties with Taiwan, saying China’s actions create unnecessary tensions. Earlier on Monday, Beijing announced sanctions against Paraguayan Minister of Information and Communication Technologies Gustavo Villate and Belizean Minister of Foreign Affairs Francis Fonseca. The Paraguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it rejected the sanctions, writing on X that they created unnecessary friction. It added that it reaffirmed its support for Taiwan and its commitment to democratic values and principles. Villate told the Spanish-language Paraguayan daily ABC Color the sanctions were “predictable” and linked them to several cooperation projects between Taiwan and Paraguay. The projects
RSS