Taipei, June 7 (CNA) With the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) situation on the island levelling off, President Chen Shui-bian said Saturday that he believes Taiwan will soon be lifted from the World Health Organization's travel advisory list concerning SARS.
President Chen, via a video clip to a daily meeting convened by the SARS Prevention and Relief Committee under the Executive Yuan, said that he is confident the WHO will remove Taiwan from its list and urged the public to work toward that goal.
The president cited Lee Ming-liang, the nation's top coordinator in the campaign against SARS, to say that Taiwan had entered into the peak period for SARS patients checking out of hospital.
The president said that Taiwan's measures adopted regarding checking out of hospital and quarantine are even stricter than those of the WHO.
The world health body states that SARS patients can check out after their fever has subsided for at least two days, compared with five days according to Taiwan's regulations. Taiwan has also imposed a 14-day home quarantine period, twice the length of seven days recommended by the WHO.
The president said that if Taiwan can meet five conditions, then it can be removed from the WHO's travel advisory list. The conditions are: the number of reported SARS cases daily is under five for three consecutive days, the number of probable SARS case patients in hospital is less than 60, there are no cases of SARS export, every SARS case can be traced to its source of transmission, and the SARS situation is levelling off.
He said that through the concerted efforts of the government, private groups, health care workers and the general public, the SARS situation in Taiwan has greatly improved, but he also urged the people not to let down their guard concerning the disease. "One must not forget the example of resurgent cases in other countries after the flu-like respiratory disease seemed to have been on the wane, " he said, urging the people to continue to wash their hands frequently and take there temperature daily as part of efforts in the battle against the potentially deadly respiratory disease.