The Presidential Office yesterday said that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) will decide whether to issue an emergency decree after the National Security Council (NSC) holds a top-level meeting this week to evaluate the spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
"The meeting will discuss the topic of international cooperation, overall epidemic prevention, state image, military resources, national mobilization and the laws and regulations," Huang said.
"The government will establish four centers -- in northern, central, southern and eastern Taiwan -- to offer centralized treatment of SARS patients and the most experienced medical staff will be placed in charge of medical teams," Huang said.
If the president issues the emergency decree, Huang said, Taiwan may have to shut down some communities and facilities open to the general public and the government will need to come up with comprehensive mechanisms, such as the suspension of the small direct links between China and Kinmen, to restrict all traveling to SARS infected areas overseas.
Huang said that Chen is has full confidence in the Cabinet's ability to successfully conquer the challenges posed by the epidemic. He added that the National Security Committee is prepare to hold a high-level meeting this week to evaluate the entire situation before making any proposals to the president.
"If the spread of the epidemic gets any worse, the president may have to issue an emergency decree to cope with the epidemic's devastation on Taiwan's economy, public order and national defense," he said.
Huang added that the Cabinet has given regularly briefings on the latest development of the government's anti-SARS efforts to the president and Chen has expressed his complete trust in Premier Yu Shyi-kun and his team.
Chen yesterday also expressed his concerns about the spread of the epidemic and urged people to jointly work with the government to overcome the challenge.
"I hope that all private sectors, local governments and the central government, irrespective of their the political orientation, will coordinate their efforts to contain the spread of the disease," Chen said in a news release issued yesterday.
"I have urged our countrymen to remain on high alert but they should not panic," Chen said. "However, now I must say that the challenge we face is obviously much more difficult than we first thought," Chen said.
"To prevent the spread of the epidemic, I call on all people of the country to hang in together and join the anti-SARS campaign," the president said. "I would like to remind you all that we must seize every minute and second since the disease-control network has already shown a loophole."
"To fight SARS, we must realize that the government would rather be strong than ineffective," Chen said.
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