WARNING: Taiwan’s e-mail mentioned ‘isolated’ patients, and any public health expert would know what circumstances require such a response, the minister of health said

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 12, 2020
By: Lee I-chia / Staff reporter

Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) yesterday urged the WHO to be honest as the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) published the e-mail it had sent to the world body in December last year alerting it about the risk of an outbreak in China.

The WHO on Friday said it received an e-mail from the Ministry of Health and Welfare on Dec. 31 last year, but added that “there was no mention in the message of human-to-human transmission.”

During a news conference at the CECC in Taipei yesterday, Chen read out the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) e-mail to the WHO International Health Regulations (IHR) Focal Point on Dec. 31 last year.

“News resources today indicate that at least seven atypical pneumonia cases were reported in Wuhan, China,” the e-mail read. “Their health authorities replied to the media that the cases were believed not SARS; however, the samples are still under examination, and cases have been isolated for treatment.”    [FULL  STORY]