Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-Jeou (
"These two people based their activities around Lungshan Temple. We are now asking people who have been to the temple after April 30 to start home quarantine," Ma said.
"If they develop symptoms such as high fever or coughing, please call 119 to have the police escort them to the hospital. Do not attempt to visit the doctor alone," he said.
Homeless people have become a potential loophole in the community battle against SARS, and the Taipei City Government has admitted the difficulty in tracing and keeping up with all the homeless people in the city.
Meanwhile, two head nurses who have contracted SARS were in critical condition as of press time last night.
A 43-year-old nurse surnamed Weng, who was head of a ward at Jen Chi Hospital, is thought to have contracted the disease while attending to SARS patients in her hospital.
She was admitted to Taipei Veterans General Hospital on April 30 and put on a respirator on May 3.
The hospital said her condition was very serious and that her family had been informed of the situation.
A 39-year-old head nurse of a ward at Taipei Municipal Hoping Hospital surnamed Chang was admitted to Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital and put on an respirator on May 2. Hospital staff, however, said that they were confident she would recover.
Stress also seems to be taking its toll on hospital workers battling the disease outbreak.
Superintendent Wu Kan-wen (
Deputy Superintendent of Taipei Municipal Jen-Ai Hospital Chu Ta-cheng (
Chu was also judged to be suffering from fatigue and was discharged to Civil Service Training Center for quarantine.
According to the DOH, as of yesterday afternoon, 116 probable SARS cases had been reported. Eight people have died and 46 have been discharged from hospitals.
A total of 7,779 people have been put under 10-day domestic quarantine, 2,493 of whom have been removed from the list.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source