The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday announced that it was postponing the start of a new semester at universities to after Feb. 25 and that a ban on Chinese students returning to Taiwan has been extended to after Sunday to reduce the risk of a local novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), head of the center, said there were no new confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV on Sunday.
Of the 515 people who have had direct contact with the 10 confirmed 2019-nCoV patients in Taiwan, 35 people had shown symptoms of the disease, 32 of them were ruled out and three were still being tested, he said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) met with university representatives earlier yesterday and reached a consensus to push back the start of the new semester by two weeks to after Feb. 25.
Universities can set their own starting day, but they are required to have 18 weeks of clasess in the new semester, Pan said, adding that schools must announce their new academic calendar before the starting day and submit their plan to the education ministry for reference.
A temporary ban on Chinese students returning to Taiwan has also been extended to after Sunday, and universities are required to come up with flexible measures to safeguard these students’ right to education and submit their plans to the education ministry before Friday, he said.
The graduate school entrance examination dates will remain the same, while school campuses are required to adopt stringent preventive measures against the disease, he said.
Asked about parents’ concerns about sending their children to nurseries or preschools, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said children who have returned from China, Hong Kong or Macau should be confined at home for 14 days and should not go to school.
The measure is based on a set of guidelines for 2019-nCoV prevention and health management in educational and childcare facilities issued by the CECC on Saturday, he said.
Meanwhile, the first stage of evacuation of more than 200 Taiwanese businesspeople from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the 2019-nCoV outbreak, was scheduled to arrive in Taiwan last night.
Those who have shown symptoms of the disease or are being monitored will not take the flight back to Taiwan, Taiwan Businessmen’s Association head Hsiao Yung-jui (蕭永瑞).
The evacuees would receive a physical examination upon arrival to check for symptoms of the disease. Those who exhibited symptoms would be immediately sent to hospitals, while those who do not would be isolated for 14 days in single rooms at as yet unspecified venues, such as military bases or idle government facilities, to prevent them coming into contact with local residents, he said.
The CECC has requisitioned healthcare professionals to assist in quarantine facilities to help evacuees settle in, he said.
A requisition for healthcare professionals was last issued in 2003 during the SARS outbreak in Taiwan.
The requisitioned physicians would receive an additional subsidy of NT$10,000 per day, while nurses would receive NT$5,000, other healthcare professionals NT$2,000 and other workers NT$1,500 per day, he said.
They would be asked to sign an agreement not to disclose any personal identifiable information about people kept in quarantine, he added.
Additional reporting by CNA
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