Firms told to take anti-SARS steps

"We will activate different prevention measures for various industries we made last year in accordance with the mechanism announced by the Department of Health."

Huang Tsung-chi, public relations director for the Ministry of Economic Affairs

The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday called on businesses to be prepared for a possible return of SARS, following reports of new cases of the disease in China.

"We will activate different prevention measures for various industries we made last year in accordance with the mechanism announced by the Department of Health," said Huang Tsung-chi (黃琮祺), the ministry's public relations director, said yesterday.

On Thursday, China said two suspected SARS cases had been reported in Beijing and Anhui Province, leading health authorities in this country to announce that an"A-level" alert mechanism would take effect at midnight tonight.

Passengers from China, Hong Kong and Macau will be required to check their temperatures for a period of 10 days. Huang said the ministry would suggest companies follow suit for staffers who have traveled to these destinations.

At this point, the government has sufficient anti-SARS goods, such as masks, thermometers and ethanol, in stock. The health department and various hospitals have 100 million to 200 million masks in stock, Huang said.

Charles Yu (余辰南), secretary general of Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce (工商協進會), said the association is concerned about the development of the SARS cases in China and will suggest that its China-bound members observe preventative measures.

"We need to react fast this time, as the outbreak cost us dearly last year," Yu said.

Yu said he hopes the nation's bullish economy won't be dented this year by the fatal disease, which hit Taiwan in late March last year and crashed its GDP to minus 0.08 percent in the second quarter of last year.

Taiwan posted a 3.24-percent economic growth rate last year and is expected to see 4.74 percent growth for this year, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics reported in February.

But the reports of possible SARS cases do not seem to worry Taiwanese businesspeople working in China.

"Our life here [in China] is not affected by a comeback of SARS," said Chen Kuo-yuan (陳國原), the secretary-general of the Taiwanese Merchant Investment Association in Beijing (北京台資企業協會), in a phone interview with the Taipei Times yesterday.

Chen said he believes that people in Beijing know exactly what to do to keep them safe from being infected.

Concern about a possible return of SARS apparently weighed on the TAIEX yesterday, with tourism and transportation shares slumping 1.02 percent and 0.99 percent, respectively.

Shares of China Airlines Co (華航) dropped NT$0.4 to NT$19 and EVA Airways Corp (長榮) lost NT$0.7 to close at NT$15.7.

Shares of medicine and cleaning-product manufacturers, however, reported some gains.

Medtecs International Corp (美德醫療), a Singaporean medical-supply company, surged NT$1.5 to NT$26.5, while Mao Bao Chemical Products Inc (毛寶), a cleaning-product maker, added NT$0.7 to NT$11.2.