President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said he had confidence in the government’s ability to keep the A(H1N1) influenza, or swine flu, epidemic under control, and defended his decision not to activate the national security mechanism.
Addressing the matter in the latest issue of his weekly online video journal, Ma said greater public awareness of the new flu strain was needed, but people should not panic over the situation.
“I call on the public to raise their awareness as they face the flu threat, but there’s no need to be too nervous about it. We should be able to keep the situation under control following the instructions of the health authorities,” Ma said.
PHOTO: HUANG CHIH-YUAN, TAIPEI TIMES
Despite calls from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers for the president to call a national security meeting in response to the growing threat of a nationwide outbreak, the Presidential Office said on Tuesday that such a decision was not needed for the time being.
Ma said yesterday he had reached the decision not to activate the national security mechanism for now after reading three different opinions from various analysts in the country, adding that some were concerned that activating the national security mechanism too soon could cause unnecessary panic.
Ma said the government had delayed the spread of swine flu for more than a month, and the National Security Council had closely monitored the situation.
Department of Health Minister Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良) briefed Ma about the situation on Thursday. Ma also met epidemic prevention experts at the Presidential Office that day to gain a better understanding of the growing swine flu threat.
Ma said he ordered the National Security Council to form a special task force to keep in touch with the Central Epidemic Command Center.
Likening epidemic prevention and control to a battle, Ma said that it involved a “very crucial decision” as to when to issue a command to “open fire.”
“Epidemic prevention is like fighting a battle, and [calling a national security meeting] is a major decision. We should take proper measures so that things won’t be overdone,” he said.
Ma said he had also asked the health sector to start epidemic prevention nationwide and increase stocks of Tamiflu.
Additional reporting by CNA
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
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