Press Release of the Offshore Control Division of the Executive Yuan's SARS Epidemic Prevention, Control and Relief Committee
Today (May 8), the Offshore Control Division again linked up with the CKS International Airport and Kaohsiung International Airport for a video conference. During that meeting, all related governmental agencies gave their latest reports on the implementation of SARS prevention measures, and continued tracking related matters that ought to be done and have been under surveillance.
Yesterday (May 7), the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) seized 16 illegal immigrants from the Mainland, all of them female, as part of the “SARS Cleanup Mission,” an enforced crackdown on smuggling and illegal immigration. The CGA declared that in the early hours of May 7 the CGA's No. 13 Coast Patrol Brigade, in cooperation with the Ilan Motorized Patrol Squad, arrested 16 female Mainland illegal immigrants and one Taiwan suspect at Taipei County's seaside Lung Tung Park. They also impounded a minibus. Further investigation revealed that the 16 women had boarded a Mainland fishing vessel from the coastal area of Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, at 8 p.m. on May 3. After that vessel had reached the open seas, it met up with a Taiwan fishing boat (name of ship unknown), which the 16 women boarded to continue their trip. On 11:20 p.m. on May 6 then, the Taiwan fishing boat reached the high seas off Pitou, where the women again changed ship, this time boarding a sampan (name unknown) that brought them to the seaside Lung Tung Park's reef rock coast. There the women disembarked at 0:30 a.m. on May 7.
The CGA further stated that after an initial examination by medical staff, the 16 women were found to be without symptoms. They are currently under quarantine surveillance at the Taoyuan Pen Harbor area's detention camp. The ROC national involved in the case, a person name Chen, was served a Compulsory Quarantine Notice by the Taoyuan County health authorities at 6 p.m. on May 7. Later that day, the public prosecutor at the Keelung District Prosecutors Office released Chen on bail at 9:15 p.m. Chen was allowed to go home, but required to report to the Chungho City Health Station and undergo home quarantine. Chen did so this morning (May 8), and is currently placed under home quarantine.
Meanwhile, the CGA continues to track and monitor shuttle ships/ferries operating in the seas surrounding Taiwan. The CGA has called on all such vessels to make public safety and wellbeing a top priority, and to quickly commence a 10-day quarantine of their own accord to avoid a negative impact on other people. When questioned on the matter, the Council of Agriculture's Fisheries Administration declared that all crew members of shuttle/ferry vessels who become infected with SARS because of illegal operations will not only be penalized in accordance with the Communicable Disease Prevention Act, but will also be severely punished by the Fisheries Administration according to the Fisheries Law. The Fisheries Administration calls on all Taiwan fishermen to refrain from trusting to luck by committing illegal acts.
To prevent a repetition of cases such as that of the ROC national named Kung, who returned to Taiwan on a plane from Macao after concealing his SARS symptoms, the Offshore Control Division declared that it has stressed one more time the need for domestic and international airlines to perform body temperature checks before allowing passengers to board their planes. This measure is particularly important for passengers taking flights bound for Taiwan from Hong Kong and Macao in terms of preventing loopholes from happening in the fight against SARS. The Offshore Control Division will continue to promote the above regulations and procedures to make sure that all related agencies and companies to comply with them while implementing their jobs.
Finally, there have been media reports saying that Taiwan legislators have voiced concern about ROC nationals returning from the Mainland to Taiwan via Japan in an attempt to avoid being placed under 10-day home quarantine. The Offshore Control Division responded to these reports by saying that quarantine regulations have been designed to deal with this problem, and that such behavior by some travelers will not undermine Taiwan's SARS prevention efforts. For example, those traveling from an area with a concentration of SARS cases to Taiwan via an area without a concentration of SARS cases do not need to undergo compulsory quarantine if they can produce evidence, such as plane tickets and boarding passes, that they spent at least ten days in an area without a concentration of SARS cases. On the other hand, those travelers who spent less than ten days in an area without a concentration of SARS cases are still required to undergo home quarantine after entering Taiwan. Therefore, passengers coming to Taiwan have to fill in the Questionnaires for SARS Prevention truthfully, and state clearly whether or not they have been to an area with a concentration of SARS cases over the past ten days. Their statements will serve as a basis for further checks by the Center for Disease Control. In addition, the official stamps in travelers' passports stating dates of entries to/exits from other countries can also serve as criteria for the issuance or otherwise of a quarantine notice. The Offshore Control Division calls on the population to comply with quarantine regulations. Violators can be penalized in accordance with the “Communicable Disease Prevention Act” and the “Interim Regulations of SARS Control.”