Premier Mao Chi-kuo has called on the Ministry of Health and Welfare to strengthen measures aimed at preventing the spread of MERS to Taiwan.
Mao told a Cabinet meeting Thursday that nearby South Korea has recorded 122 cases of MERS since the disease arrived in the country from the Middle East. Nine of these cases have been fatal. Mao said that South Korea now has the second-highest number of MERS cases in the world.
Mao said that the health ministry should heighten its monitoring of the disease’s spread through South Korea and worldwide. Mao also called for heightened quarantine inspections at entry points into Taiwan and increased vigilance on the part of medical staff.
Meanwhile, foreign ministry spokesperson Anna Kao says that the foreign ministry is in close contact with the Centers for Disease Control as the epidemic unfolds. Kao said that the ministry will be adding updated information about the MERS outbreak to its website as it becomes available.