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Visitors' quarantine rules to be reviewed

The Cabinet's SARS Prevention and Relief Committee is scheduled to review the quarantine requirement for visitors from Hong Kong today, now that Hong Kong has been removed from the World Health Organization's (WHO) list of SARS-affected areas, a health official said yesterday.

Chiang Ying-lung (江英隆), deputy chief of the Center for Disease Control under the Department of Health, said the many visitors from Hong Kong hope the 10-day compulsory quarantine period imposed by local health authorities on visitors from Hong Kong will be dropped.

The committee also plans to discuss whether to cancel the requirement that bus and train passengers must wear surgical masks today.

Taiwan reported no new SARS cases yesterday for the eighth consecutive day.

The number of total cases dropped to 687 because five people were taken off the list after physicians decided the patients were mistakenly diagnosed with the virus, Chiang said. The death toll remained at 84.

Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) suggested on a separate occasion that restrictions on visas for Hong Kong residents will be lifted soon, although landing visas will not be issued for the time being.

In Taipei, Bureau of Health chief Chang Heng (張珩), said the outbreak was on the wane, as a local hospital detected the city's last hospital transmission 14 days ago.

However, he advised the public to keep taking their temperature twice a day and to keep wearing masks in public places until September.

Chang urged the city's residents not to let down their guard against SARS to prevent its resurgence.

Chiang said that if all goes well, Taiwan could be declared effectively free of SARS tomorrow.

The WHO removed Hong Kong from its list of SARS-affected areas on Monday. The previous day marked the 20 consecutive day since the last confirmed SARS patient there was put into isolation in a hospital -- the condition that qualified Hong Kong to be taken off the list.

Based on the same formula, Chiang said, Taiwan could be lifted from the WHO's SARS-affected areas tomorrow since its last confirmed SARS patient was put into an isolation ward June 6.
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