Mayor Ma warns against violation of quarantine

Taipei's Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) warned yesterday that violators of SARS quarantine orders will be punished after a high school student who broke quarantine to attend a tutoring school class became ill, forcing the school's closure.

A technical college yesterday also announced it would close, becoming the second regular school to shut completely as authorities struggle to prevent the widening SARS outbreak from spreading in the community at large.

"Home quarantine is a serious matter," Ma said. "We will not allow anyone to ignore the order. They must be punished."

The student had been under a two-week home quarantine order because his mother worked at a hospital that was sealed off following an outbreak of SARS, officials said.

But he left home to attend a night school chemistry class last week before coming down with SARS symptoms on Saturday, health officials said.

Authorities ordered the 154 students at the tutoring school to be quarantined at home, officials said.

A primary school near two Taipei hospitals that have been sealed off because of SARS outbreaks have also been closed.