Sixteen nations have advised their citizens to reconsider traveling to Taiwan in a bid to limit the spread of a deadly flu-like disease, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said yesterday.
"It's true that 16 countries have either issued travel warnings to their nationals hoping they cancel their trips to Taiwan or asked them to act with caution while traveling in Taiwan," ministry spokesman Richard Shih (
Shih made the remark yesterday evening after the ministry released a list of countries which have advised their citizens to avoid Taiwan over fears about severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
Countries on the list are: Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, South Korea, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, Spain, the UK and Israel.
The severity of the travel warnings varied, however, according to an independent study of the advisories.
"To prevent and control the spreading of this disease into the kingdom, it is advised that persons should postpone or cancel their trips to outbreak countries (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam and Singapore) during this period," according to a statement by Thailand's Ministry of Public Health.
The New Zealand's ministry of health has issued more severe warnings regarding SARS since the outbreak began. The ministry warns its nationals planning "elective or non-essential travel to the affected areas -- mainland China, Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, and Taiwan" to postpone their travel until further notice.
The Canadian government "recommends that persons planning to travel to these areas [Hanoi, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan] should defer all travel until further notice," according to the Health Canada Web site.
A press release by the British public health laboratory service on April 2 said that the public "is strongly advised not to travel to these areas [referring specifically to Hong Kong and China's Guangdong Province]."
The statement also cautioned British nationals going to "other areas where SARS has previously been reported [Hanoi, Singapore, Toronto, Beijing, Shanxi and Taiwan] to be aware of the updated situation."
Shih said Taiwan would lobby foreign governments to remove the nation from their list given that the outbreak is under control in Taiwan.
The ministry held a briefing on SARS for Taipei-based diplomats on Monday, drawing 56 ambassadors and top representatives, as part of the government's plan to inform foreign countries of its moves to contain the disease.
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