World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Gro Harlem Brundtland will declare Taiwan free of SARS today, the organization said yesterday.
The Geneva-based WHO scheduled an announcement via a global telephone briefing for 3pm today, an Agence France-Press report said.
"Unless other cases are reported by then, Taiwan will have gone 20 straight days without a new infection of SARS, meeting the final requirement for removal from the WHO's list of areas with local transmission," the report said.
Taiwan is the only place left on the WHO's list of SARS-affected areas.
The Cabinet's SARS Prevention and Relief Committee, set up at the end of April to combat the disease and which met on a daily basis when the epidemic intensified, will only meet once a week starting next week.
The WHO was to convene a meeting in Geneva to discuss the issue at midnight last night Taiwan time, said Lee Ming-liang (李明亮), co-chairman of the committee.
Yesterday was the 19th consecutive day that no probable SARS cases were reported. According to the WHO, Taiwan will be off the list 20 days after the onset date of the nation's last SARS case, which was June 15.
The committee said that temperature checks would be continued at airports.
"Temperature checks in CKS International Airport will continue as a preventive measure because China's reports on its SARS situation are still not transparent enough," Lee said.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications will decide when to stop the temperature checks, Lee said.
Domestic airports will continue checking passengers' temperatures for 10 days after Taiwan is off the list, he said.
Temperature checks in hospitals will continue for 20 days after the WHO declares Taiwan free of SARS, he said.
"Twenty days is twice the length of the incubation period of the disease," Lee said.
He described as "an incorrect move" a decision by National Taiwan University Hospital, the hospital most experienced in treating the disease, to stop temperature checks yesterday.
Lee said the committee would try to persuade the hospital to start taking temperatures again, arguing that surveys indicated that patients favor hospitals that continue temperature checks.
"Sixty percent of people interviewed said they did not want to go to hospitals that did not implement temperature checks," Lee said.
Chen Chien-jen (
"Food workers dealing with cooked food are obliged to wear face masks. Those who flout the regulation could be fined NT$30,000 to NT$150,000," Chen said.
Meanwhile, the health department realizes that SARS may emerge again in a few months when winter comes, said Tan Kai-yuan (
"Chen has said the coming two to three months are the key period for the department to step up measures to prevent the reappearance of the disease," Tan said.
A national medical conference is due to be held in October when health units across the nation will meet to discuss how to keep SARS at bay, Tan said.
Also see story:
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
SAFETY FIRST: Double the number of police were deployed at the Taipei Marathon, while other cities released plans to bolster public event safety Authorities across Taiwan have stepped up security measures ahead of Christmas and New Year events, following a knife and smoke bomb attack in Taipei on Friday that left four people dead and 11 injured. In a bid to prevent potential copycat incidents, police deployments have been expanded for large gatherings, transport hubs, and other crowded public spaces, according to official statements from police and city authorities. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city has “comprehensively raised security readiness” in crowded areas, increased police deployments with armed officers, and intensified patrols during weekends and nighttime hours. For large-scale events, security checkpoints and explosives
A car bomb killed a senior Russian general in southern Moscow yesterday morning, the latest high-profile army figure to be blown up in a blast that came just hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegates held separate talks in Miami on a plan to end the war. Kyiv has not commented on the incident, but Russian investigators said they were probing whether the blast was “linked” to “Ukrainian special forces.” The attack was similar to other assassinations of generals and pro-war figures that have either been claimed, or are widely believed to have been orchestrated, by Ukraine. Russian Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, 56, head
PUBLIC SAFETY: The premier said that security would be tightened in transport hubs, while President Lai commended the public for their bravery The government is to deploy more police, including rapid response units, in crowded public areas to ensure a swift response to any threats, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after a knife attack killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei the previous day. Lai made the remarks following a briefing by the National Police Agency on the progress of the investigation, saying that the attack underscored the importance of cooperation in public security between the central and local governments. The attack unfolded in the early evening on Friday around Taipei Main Station’s M7 exit and later near the Taipei MRT’s Zhongshan
RSS