To prevent SARS from returning this autumn, the government has activated infection control measures in medical facilities and supervision of medical supplies, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday.
Speaking in his capacity as chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Chen yesterday urged rank-and-file government officials to practice prevention measures and strengthen cooperation with other countries.
"The Cabinet must coordinate all governmental agencies to practice standard operating procedures to monitor the hospitals' filters for fever patients, household quarantine, the transfer of patients from off-shore islands to larger medical facilities in Taiwan, activation of SARS-designated hospitals and protection for medical staff," Chen said yesterday at the DPP's weekly Central Standing Committee meeting.
Chen also urged the government to build a standardized and systematic mechanism for disease-prevention exchanges with the US, Canada and Asia.
The meeting yesterday included Department of Health Director-General Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) and Center for Disease Control Director Su Ih-jen (蘇益仁) to comment on the government's progress in SARS prevention work.
Su yesterday expressed frustration and disappointment regarding the acquisition for disease-prevention information from the World Health Organization.
DPP Deputy Secretary General Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) yesterday said the nation has no problem obtaining information from the US Centers for Disease Control, Hong Kong or Japan.
However, Lee said, "It has been very difficult for us to contact the World Health Organization to retrieve data for the disease. The CDC director expressed frustration and disappointment about our communication channels with the WHO as we received no response from the WHO regarding the inquiries we made."
Lee yesterday called on the public to continue supporting the nation's accession to the WHO.
Lee also said the government was listening to public concerns about flu, which has similar symptoms to SARS, as winter approaches.
To that end, Lee said the government has given free flu vaccinations to people aged over 65 and all medical staff starting last week.
Lee said that the prevalence of SARS among health workers showed that they were more at risk from this kind of respiratory disease.
"Eighty percent of the infectious SARS cases resulted from infection within hospitals. Currently 72 percent of all the medical workers in the country have taken flu vaccine shots during the past two weeks. We want each of our medical staff to take the vaccine as soon as possible," Lee said.
The government has also decided to require only feverish patients wear masks. Lee said yesterday the policy is unprecedented in the world and the government has received international recognition for it.
"We don't want to create unnecessary panic among the public as the epidemiological research in the past few months proves that the SARS virus is not airborne," Lee said.
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