The government is keeping a close eye on the Ebola outbreak in west Africa and helping Taiwanese citizens there look after their health while collecting the most up-to-date disease control information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Anna Kao (高安) said yesterday.
The ministry has upgraded its travel alerts for the countries affected by Ebola: Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, Kao said.
It is also watching how other nations adjust border controls for travelers from the area and may consider stricter screening in Taiwan, she said.
“We are also making sure that we have smooth communication with local representative offices to get first-hand information,” Kao said.
Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director-General David Wang (王建業) added that the ministry has been in close contact with the Representative Office of Taiwan in Abuja, Nigeria, where about 100 Taiwanese businesspeople live.
Wang said the ministry would work closely with the Taiwan Trade Centre in Lagos to keep businesses in Africa fully informed and reduce the risk of Ebola spreading to Taiwanese nationals.
The national embassy in Burkina Faso has stepped up disease-control efforts as a precaution, even though no Ebola cases have been confirmed in the country, Wang said.
Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said earlier this week that it has not ruled out sending doctors to Nigeria.
The mission of the doctors would be to manage the health of Taiwanese nationals, CDC Director-General Steve Kuo (郭旭菘) said during an exercise at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport designed to intercept travelers suspected of carrying the Ebola virus.
Kuo said that although the risk of the disease being exported to Taiwan is very low, it is not non-existent, adding that the CDC is enhancing its Ebola control preparations, including the establishment of an emergency response unit.
He said that the unit would work with the National Immigration Agency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide visitors to and from the affected and at-risk areas with relevant information on the risks, measures to minimize the risks and advice for managing potential exposure.
Although just about 1,200 people travel to Taiwan from west Africa each year, about 82,400 people travel between China and Africa as a whole each month, the CDC said.
In addition, more than 10,000 people from China, the Philippines and India are working and living in west Africa, CDC officials said, describing these travelers, workers and immigrants as a potential risk of bringing Ebola into Taiwan.
The CDC has launched a third-degree “warning” travel alert for Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, advising people to avoid going to the three nations unless absolutely necessary.
It also issued a second-degree alert for Nigeria, suggesting that people traveling to that country take precautions and avoid contact with people who are possibly infected.
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