In a blow to the country's hopes that the SARS epidemic had been brought under control, Taipei City Government said yesterday that two people at Taipei Municipal Yang Ming Hospital (
According to the Taipei City Bureau of Health, two care workers surnamed Chen and Huang began showing a fever on Sunday and anomalies were found in their chest X-rays on Wednesday. Tests yesterday revealed that they both had contracted the coronavirus, the virus that causes SARS.
"The two care workers were from Taipei Municipal Hao Jen Pensioners' Home (
The two care workers were apparently working at Yang Ming Hospital when they fell ill.
Two of Huang's patients, another patient in the same ward and another care worker have a fever and will be transferred to hospitals equipped to deal with SARS patients, according to Chang Heng (
"In response to the in-hospital SARS outbreak, Yang Ming has quickly shut down its emergency department and set up a SARS command center headed by its superintendent, Wang Tai-lung (王泰隆). Normal treatment services and fever examination stations remain in operation," Chang said.
Chang said the operation to seal off areas where the suspected SARS patients had been was completed by 6pm yesterday.
Anyone who might have had contact with the new cases was being summoned back to the hospital, including at least 54 employees who will be quarantined.
Eighteen patients at the hospital who might have had contact with the care workers or fever patients were being closely monitored, Chang said.
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