A 48-year-old man, suspected of having severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) along with his entire family, hanged himself in the Taipei Municipal Hoping Hospital yesterday, while a 78-year-old man died of respiratory failure suspected to be caused by the SARS.
"We explained to the husband about his wife's condition yesterday, and told him that his wife would get the best treatment and medication possible, also that the survival rate is high," said Hospital Superintendent Wu Kang-wen (吳康文).
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
"We also offered him counseling. The husband, however, seemed to be very depressed," Wu added. "Before he killed himself, he left a written statement saying that he simply couldn't make it, and he was sorry."
Director Chiu Shu-ti (
Both deaths happened yesterday afternoon, and were announced and confirmed after the setup of a videoconferencing system at 2pm.
The Taipei City Government originally planned to set up videoconference systems at the Taipei City Government building and the coordination center of the police radio station to communicate with Hoping Hospital.
The videoconference equipment was meant to allow family members of those quarantined in the Hoping Hospital to communicate with the detainees.
Deputy Taipei Mayor Ou Chin-der (歐晉德) said that the city government had also been providing counseling services since Thursday to the people inside the hospital.
Ou said the quarantine period would "basically be 14 days, depending on the situation. Of course the shorter the better if there is no cross-infection."
"If, however, the outbreak cannot be contained, we may need to prolong the confinement. But we will seek the medical experts' advice first," Ou said.
"Right now the most important thing is to control the situation inside the hospital. We need more professional backup, the best doctors from all over the island, to combat the disease," he said.
Yesterday morning Ou, together with Chiu and Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Simmerman, together with three other local epidemiologists, went into the hospital after the press conference to help control cross-infection within the buildings.
Simmerman said, "we have a complicated problem here ... We have very good cooperation with the health authority here and we are confident about finding a solution."
There are two other USCDC officials in Taipei at the moment helping with the Hoping case.
Chiu said that the USCDC "is helping us to better control the environment in the hospital. [The officials] are giving us assistance in setting up a standard procedure to deal with the patients inside."
"Most medical staff are doing their best to care for the patients. Their efforts should be commended. Right now our most important mission is to minimize the number of infected cases."
Speaking using the videoconferencing system, Chen Mei-fen (
"Most people inside are fine. Our lives and meals remain regular. Only a very few people are not getting food by mistake. Misunderstandings about the situation inside since yesterday [Friday] have been mainly due to the lack of communication channels."
On Friday about 40 of those quarantined at the hospital angrily protested at their confinement and gave a highly negative picture of the living conditions they had to put up with, including a lack of food.
Chen said that some of her colleagues who had tried to escape from the hospital Friday felt regrets about their actions.
Chiu stressed that the authorities were trying to separate those among the quarantined infected with SARS from those who were not, but that this was time-consuming and could not be done with the resources available to the hospital alone.
"We do not have enough doctors who are familiar with SARS inside the hospital. We need to form a SARS treatment team, but this cannot be done by the Hoping Hospital or Taipei City Government single-handedly. We need support from the central government and international society," Ou said.
Also See Stories:
SARS epidemic: Disease doesn't scare diplomats
SARS epidemic: Legislator seeks Czech support for WHA effort
SARS epidemic: Lawmakers offer expert advice on prevention
SARS epidemic: New Zealand puts Taiwan on risk list
SARS epidemic: DOH denies rumor of disease fatalities
SARS epidemic: Chen plays waiting game with state of emergency
SARS epidemic: Pan-blues offer support for tougher SARS measures
SARS epidemic: Top prosecutor sent on mission to hospital
SARS epidemic: Taichung factory shuts after workers develop symptoms
Editorial: For hope, look to our heroes
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a