WHO extends SARS travel advisory to Taiwan
By Faith Hung -- EBN -- May 8, 2003 (5:02 p.m. ET)
TAIPEI, Taiwan — The World Health Organization on Thursday (May 8) extended its travel advisory warning here and two additional provinces in China in a bid to curb the spread of the SARS virus.
Although the electronics industry supply chain has so far not been heavily affected by the SARS outbreak and the consequent restriction on travels imposed by many countries and the WHO, the latest development could have significant implications for electronics manufacturers in Taiwan.
"As a result of ongoing assessments as to the nature of outbreaks of SARS, WHO is now recommending, as a measure of precaution, that people planning to travel to Tianjin and Inner Mongolia provinces of China, and Taipei in Taiwan province of China consider postponing all but essential travel," WHO said in a statement. "This temporary advice will be reassessed regularly."
The WHO's latest travel advisory comes on the heels of efforts by AU Optronics Corp. and Motorola Corp. to limit the effects of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, otherwise known as SARS, on their Asia operations. Motorola (Schaumburg, Ill.), said earlier this week that it advised employees at its Beijing head office to work from home or at other Motorola sites while AU Optronics asked 20 workers to quarantine themselves at home.
AU Optronics, the world's third largest manufacturer of TFT-LCD panels, said that it took the precaution after one employee in the company's Taoyuan factory exhibited symptoms similar to those of SARS. It has not yet been determined if the employee's symptoms are actually the result of SARS, a mysterious and potentially fatal flu-like illness that has spread across Asia and throughout the world in the past few months.
"We want to play it safe, so we have quarantined those people who had close contact with the employee with SARS-like symptoms," said H.B. Chen, president of AU (Hsinchu, Taiwan). "Our production is continuing as normal, as are all of our operations."
The Taiwan government has asked companies to instruct any employees who have SARS-like symptoms or who may have been exposed to the disease to remain at home. AU is the latest of many companies in Taiwan, China, and Hong Kong that have enacted such precautionary measures against SARS.
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