US-Taiwan Business Council SARS Statement

On May 8, 2003, The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a travel warning for Taipei, and on May 21 they extended that travel warning to all of Taiwan. The WHO advises travelers to consider postponing all but essential travel to Taiwan. This temporary advice will be reassessed regularly by the WHO.

The travel advice is based on a consideration of the magnitude of the outbreaks in the area, including both the number of prevalent cases and the daily number of new cases. The extent of local chains of transmission as well as the potential for spread beyond these areas were also major factors in the reasoning for this advice. WHO travel advice is issued to protect international public health and to reduce opportunities for further global spread.

SARS is a new disease, first recognized in late February, that has spread along the routes of international air travel. Precautionary measures aim to reduce the impact of SARS and contain the disease while it is still in a relatively early stage. The SARS situation is assessed on a regular basis to determine whether the status of areas listed for travel advice needs to be modified, whether other areas need to be added, and if additional precautionary measures are required.

Current travel advice, whereby WHO recommends that travelers consider postponing all but essential travel, are now in effect for several areas of China, namely: Beijing, Hong Kong, Guangdong, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, and Tianjin, as well as for Taiwan.

More information about SARS is available on the following web pages: