Taipei City Government has ordered a series of stepped-up measures to curb the spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), including activating an alert system at schools and public facilities to monitor any possible spread of the disease and imposing large-scale disinfection measures for public transportation.
Following the Cabinet-level Department of Health's decision on late Thursday night to list SARS as a statutory communicable disease, Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
According to the Communicable Disease Prevention Law (
Those who fail to cooperate with the health officials will face fines ranging from NT$60,000 to NT$300,000.
Director of the city's Bureau of Transportation, Lin Chih-ying (
Those buses which have completed the disinfection process will have a "check-up" sign placed on the bus to notify the passengers that the buses have been cleared.
Lin also said that more than 1,100 bus drivers around the city have been asked to wear surgical masks while working and to open the windows of the buses to ensure proper ventilation.
The MRT system will also be required to undergo disinfection measures. In addition to regular sanitation maintenance, the MRT system will step up the disinfection of all stations and carriages.
The public information display system would put up information regarding SARS and advised the public to take precautions by avoiding crowded public places and report to the health authority if any symptoms similar to SARS develop.
The Taipei City Bureau of Social Affairs yesterday said that all the city's public welfare institutions including home-care institutes, nursing homes, homeless facilities and mid-way homes for juveniles will be put under close monitoring.
Taipei City Bureau of Health Director Chiou Shu-ti (
The city has shut three clinics reported to have had contact with the four SARS patients. Some medical personnel and doctors of the Municipal Ren-Ai Hospital and Cathay General Hospital have been put under quarantine.
Chiou advised medical personnel who have had contact with patients with respiratory disease to wear the N95 particulate surgical masks, which are designed specially for a use in a health care setting.
Amid the previous spat between Taipei City and the Cabinet over whether to list SARS as a statutory communicable disease, Chiou said yesterday that she was gratified that the central government had finally stepped up efforts to legitimize the status of the disease
The decision on the status of the disease will give health officials the authority to implement more measures to limit the mobility of those suspected of having contracted SARS and family members who have visited those who have shown symptoms of the disease.
* All 870 Taipei City buses and the MRs system will undergo disinfection measures.
* Bus drivers and medical personnel urged to wear face masks.
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
Taiwan’s coffee community has launched a “one-person-one-e-mail” campaign, calling for people to send a protest-e-mail to the World Coffee Championships (WCC) urging it to redesignate Taiwanese competitors as from “Taiwan,” rather than “Chinese Taipei.” The call followed sudden action last week after the WCC changed all references to Taiwanese competitors from “Taiwan” to “Chinese Taipei,” including recent World Latte Art champion Bala (林紹興), who won the World Latte Art Championship in San Diego earlier this month. When Bala received the trophy, he was referred to as representing Taiwan, as well as in the announcement on the WCC’s Web site, until it
RSS