Press Release of the Offshore Control Division of the Executive Yuan's SARS Epidemic Disaster Response Committee
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) declared that all the 33 tourists from Hong Kong (including one suspected SARS victim, a girl child named Hu) who had arrived in Taiwan on a tour package organized by Hong Kong's Yung An Travel Agency, left Taiwan at 11:00 p.m. today (April 29) on DragonAir exclusive flight KA8481 to Hong Kong. Also on board were two accompanying medical staffs from Hong Kong. The DragonAir exclusive aircraft had originally been scheduled to depart from Hong Kong at 6:00 p.m. this afternoon, but due to dispatchment problems takeoff was delayed until 7:45 p.m. The plane had then been scheduled to depart from Taipei at 9:45 p.m., but again takeoff was delayed until 11.00 p.m. for several reasons: Hong Kong's medical staff examined the suspected SARS-infected girl child named Hu, then confirmed details of the patient transfer and prepared on-board quarantine measures. At the same time, all 33 passengers boarding the DragonAir exclusive aircraft had their ear temperature taken once more.