COMMUNITY SPREAD: The travel alert level for three US states is not the same as that of Europe, because the situation in the latter is more severe, the CECC head said
Taipei Times
Date: Mar 15, 2020
By: Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
A note from Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung that reads “Hoping you stay safe and in good health, thank you all for your hard work” is taped to a snack given to reporters at the Central Epidemic Command Center news conference yesterday as a token of appreciation marking the White Day, which is celebrated one month after Valentine’s Day.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The center also raised the travel notice to a level 2 “alert” for three US states and issued a level 1 “watch” notice for all countries for which no other notice had been issued.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), head of the center, said that as the epidemic situation in Europe is rapidly worsening, the center would raise the travel notice to level 3 for 27 European countries, following Italy, as well as Dubai, advising people to avoid nonessential travel there.
The countries are France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Greece, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Liechtenstein, as well as the UK and Ireland, whose citizens can move freely within the Schengen area, he said. [FULL STORY]
