Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-02-21
The government is considering whether to extend its seven-day ban on the transport
Deputy agriculture minister Chen Chi-chung (center). CNA photo
and slaughter of birds to stop the spread of an avian flu outbreak. The ban is set to end at midnight Thursday.
Deputy agriculture minister Chen Chi-chung said a decision will depend on developments over the next two days.
“If developments concerning the outbreak are positive over the next two days, we can take more relaxed measures,”said Chen. “But more active measures will be needed if the situation gets worse. There was a meeting with specialists yesterday. The regulation calls for three days of observation to make a decision. We will make a final call on Thursday.”
Meanwhile, no new cases of H5N6 bird flu had been confirmed as of Tuesday afternoon. There have been 34 confirmed cases to date and more than 220,000 birds have been culled to prevent the spread of the virus. [FULL STORY]