Taipei, May 24 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian on Saturday took the country's fight against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) to the airwaves by speaking to the people about effective ways to prevent the transmission of the disease in a taped nationally-televised broadcast.
In the broadcast, which was aired at 12 p.m. and is set to be aired again at 7 p.m. by almost all of the nation's television stations, Chen explains in both Mandarin Chinese and the Taiwanese dialect four easy steps to ward off SARS.
The steps, already revealed in many television commercials and advertisements run by health authorities, range from closely monitoring one's temperature to frequently washing one's hands, as high fever is a typical symptom of SARS and hand-washing is effective in killing the SARS virus.
The president explained that anyone who registers a temperature of over 38 degrees Celsius should put on a surgical mask and seek medical attention at a hospital or one of the fever-detection stations which have been set up at many hospitals around the island to screen possible SARS patients.
He also said that people who develop a fever during home quarantine should call 119 for an ambulance to take them to hospital, adding that no such person should head to the hospital by taxi or public transportation.
People should also not treat a fever on their own by taking medicine themselves which the president said may suppress the fever and thereby cover up the presence of SARS, he continued.
Finally, Chen said that people who seek medical care should inform the medical personnel of their exposure history which might help doctors make a speedy and accurate diagnosis.
Although the SARS outbreak seems to be subsiding in Taiwan, the president cautioned the public not to ease up in their vigilance against the disease and to leave nothing to chance in their fight against SARS.