Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
(Current Situation in Japan
and Measures taken by the Government of Japan)

At all Japanese diplomatic and consular missions in the People's Republic of China and offices of the Interchange Association in Taipei and Kaohsiung, an interview sheet is being collected from all applicants at the time of the receipt of a visa application. In cases that responses on the interview sheet indicate it necessary, the applicant is requested to submit a certificate from a doctor indicating SARS non-infection.

At the Embassy in Beijing and the Consulates-General in Guangzhou and Shanghai, applications for visas are being accepted only through designated travel agencies (this measure can also be implemented according to necessity in the other missions in China and the Interchange Association offices in Taiwan)

On all flights departing from the whole of mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea (only for those who get on board at the aforementioned places and go to Japan via Korea) and Toronto, a questionnaire is being distributed to all passengers and collected upon arrival. Those who fall into any of the SARS symptoms, such as high fever, breathing difficulty and history of close contact with a person suspected of having SARS in the last 10 days, are requested to submit a contact address and telephone number in Japan (at the same time, a "health card" is also handed over.) For those who do not, only a "health card" is distributed.

Doctors of national hospitals are dispatched to the quarantine offices of each airport.
All passengers, irrespective of the origin of departure, are being subject to a temperature check upon arrival at each airport (a thermometer is put in place).

For vessels from affected areas, including mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan in particular, with the cooperation of shipping companies, the same questionnaire as the one described in the above (3) is being distributed to all passengers and crew members, and a temperature check is being carried out. The questionnaire is being collected at port quarantine offices and a "health card" is being distributed.
For cargo ships, quarantine measures are being strengthened by instructing the captain to carry out a temperature check and report health conditions of crew members by radio accurately to the port quarantine offices.

(a) Dispatch of Japan Disaster Relief Expert Teams to Viet Nam and China (March and May respectively). Dispatch of an expert team to Taiwan (May).

(b) Provision of medicines, medical equipment etc. of the total value of 387.8 million Yen (Approximate cost; including shipping charges) for China, Mongolia, and Southeast Asian Countries (April / May)
Provision of medical equipment and materials equivalent to a total of 56 million yen for Taiwan (June)

(c) Emergency grant aid (1.5 billion Yen) and grassroots human security grant aid (27 million Yen) to China
Emergency grant aid: funds to purchase air sterilizers, X-ray equipment, ventilators, intensive treatment monitors, transfusion pumps, etc.
Grassroots human security grant aid: Beijing City - 20,000 coveralls (about 10 million yen); Shanghai City - four portable X-ray machines for doctor's rounds (about 17 million yen)

• Strengthening of international monitoring and warning system
  • Strengthening the infrastructure of the "Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network" coordinated by WHO both in facilities and human resources.
  • Supporting swift revision work of the International Health Regulation (IHR) for taking measures against new infectious diseases such as SARS.
  
  
  (Note) The Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network is a technical collaboration of existing institutions and networks who pool human and technical resources for the rapid identification, confirmation and response to outbreaks of international importance. The Network provides an operational framework to link this expertise and skill to keep the international community constantly alert to the threat of outbreaks and ready to respond.


• Strengthening the technical assistance of WHO to countries with new infectious disease outbreaks (focusing on regional cooperation in particular)
  • Providing assistance to strengthen the field activities of WHO (including cooperation with national and regional offices)
  • Building a firm structure whereby the Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO) of WHO is able to extend technical support more flexibly to countries in response to the outbreak of infectious diseases.
  • Providing assistance to strengthen the cooperation and coordination functions of WPRO.
  • Providing assistance to strengthen global framework focused on the WHO to promote medical research.