The Minister of Foreign Affairs apologized to the Japanese government last night over a Taiwanese doctor who went to Japan, despite having SARS symptoms.
"The minister Eugene Chien, (
Shih said the ministry would be in close contact with Tokyo's de facto embassy in Taiwan as well as the Department of Health in an attempt to minimize the damage triggered by the physician's visit to Japan.
Yesterday, the former director-general of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Chen Tzay-jinn (陳再晉) expressed anger at the doctor who works at Mackay Memorial Hospital after he traveled to Japan and returned with SARS symptoms.
"A person in the medical profession should not behave this way," Chen said.
"I have already issued a citation to the Taipei City Government's Bureau of Health yesterday, asking them to follow up on this case and see whether the doctor should be punished."
Chen, who stepped down from his CDC position yesterday, was one of the key officials handling the case.
Director-General of the Department of Health Chen Chien-jen (
The doctor tested positive for the coronavirus yesterday. He was traveling in Japan from May 8 to Tuesday. The hospital reported that the doctor said he had a fever on May 9, but thought it was a cold.
After he returned on Tuesday and found himself still unfit, he went back to the hospital on Wednesday and was listed as a probable case.
He flew back on Japan Asia Airways EG 217, and some passengers on the same flight have already been ordered to go through home quarantine.
The hospital pointed out that the doctor did not have any direct contact with SARS patients nor did he show any SARS symptoms before he left for Japan.
However, when he was on his late shift on May 4, there was a SARS patient in his duty area. But the hospital said that the doctor had no reason to be in contact with the patient. The hospital said it was because the doctor did not have any contact history with any SARS patients that he did not suspect himself of having SARS when the fever started.
"Otherwise he would definitely have sought help from a local Japanese hospital immediately," the hospital said. "He would not have risked his life and others' if he had known it were SARS."
Chen was not satisfied with the hospital's explanation.
"When you do wrong, you should say so. Do not try to escape responsibility," he said.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
RSS