Minister of the Interior Yu Cheng-hsien (余政憲) said the ministry has required city and county governments to track down a total number of 19,557 people, all of whom visited Taipei Municipal Hoping Hospital (TMHH) between April 8 and April 24, to investigate whether they have contracted flu-like severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, local Chinese-language newspapers reported yesterday.
Yu also said at the legislature yesterday morning the ministry is studying the possibility of allowing SARS-affected patients and those placed under domestic quarantine to apply for a subsidy of NT$5,000.
In addition, he said in accordance with the Law of Public Assistance (
Depending on their family situations, they might be able to get a subsidy of between NT$20,000 and NT$100,000 per month.
In a bid to recognize the efforts made by police officers, staff members at population administration offices and borough wardens, who are helping to track down the 20,000 people, Yu said the ministry will award them NT$500 per day.
Taipei County Government was informed by the ministry on Sunday night that a total of 6,788 county residents, among the 20,000 people who had been to TMHH during the two-week period, must be isolated at home.
The county's Bureau of He-alth said, if it added in those who had accompanied the residents to the hospital, it predicted that roughly 100,030 people would have to be quarantined, the report said.
The health bureau expressed concerns that the county might have difficulty paying for their meals and medical care.
Although surprised at the overnight surge in the number of residents to be quarantined, Taipei County Commissioner Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday called on the Bureau of Civil Affairs (民政局) to immediately coordinate with township governments to accomplish the mission.
To step up preventative measures, Yu stressed yesterday morning that all nationals coming back from SARS-affected areas will be put under mandatory home quarantine, a policy that was formally implemented after the first Taiwan-bound plane left from Hong Kong yesterday morning.
Those who refuse to abide by the policy will face an automatic fine of between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000 and could even be sent to the Hungwu military camp in Taoyuan for enforced quarantine, Yu said.
Yu said that those under mandatory quarantine are strongly discouraged to go out.
Even if they are permitted to leave home by the authorities concerned, they must don medical masks for the duration spent outside.
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