Taking into account the social and economic impact, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday that it will not temporarily suspend Kinmen's "small three links" to hinder the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
"We thought it would be sufficient at the moment to strengthen the quarantine measures at such ports of entry as quays and airports there," said Cabinet Spokesman Lin Chia-lung (
While cultural and athletic exchange activities with China will be postponed, the central government will team up with the Kinmen County Government to closely monitor the development of the disease and offer necessary assistance, Lin said.
Lin made the remark in response to a request filed by Kinmen County councilors on Tuesday to temporarily suspend Kinmen's "small three links" for the sake of the county residents' overall health.
Denying that the government's decision is politically-motivated, Lin called on the public not to overreact to the situation.
"If we were to close down all the ports in Kinmen, should we also close down the CKS International Airport and Keelung harbor because there's a possibility that SARS patients might enter the country?" he asked.
Lin, however, said that the government does not rule out the possibility of suspending the "small three links" in Kinmen depending on the development of the outbreak.
Dismissing talk that SARS is airborne and could sicken millions of people nationwide, Department of Health Director-General Twu Shiing-jer (
"Although we have a cumulative report of 91 SARS cases since the outbreak, we're here proud to say that there are zero fatalaties, zero secondary transmissions, and zero exportation of the disease," Twu said.
The 91 reported cases include 13 probable cases and 12 suspected ones.
Twu made the remark during the press conference held after the weekly closed-door Cabinet affairs meeting yesterday morning. Twu briefed Premier Yu Shyi-kun on the latest developments of the global pandemic during the meeting.
Citing information made available by the World Health Organization (WHO), Twu said that no concrete evidence has proved that SARS is airborne but the department is investigating the possibility.
According to the WHO, close contact with an infected person is needed for the infective agent to spread from one person to another.
Recognizing Taiwan's efforts in battling the disease, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) based in Thailand also sent the health department a letter to extol the department's agile response to the outbreak, Twu said yesterday.
"Taiwan has responded aggressively to control the spread of the disease at every stage," said Scott Dowell, director of the CDC's International Emerging Infections Program in the letter.
According to Twu, SARS appears to be less infectious than influenza and 96 percent of the world's infected patients have been recovering.
"Most of the world's 62 SARS deaths suffered from other diseases such as diabetes because their immune system was weaker," he said.
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