"As a result of ongoing assessments as to the nature of outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), WHO is now recommending, as a measure of precaution, that people planning to travel to Taiwan province, China, consider postponing all but essential travel," the international health agency said in a written statement.
Taiwan reported 35 more SARS cases Wednesday, bringing its total to 418 cases and 52 deaths.
Earlier this month, WHO had warned against travel to Taiwan's capital city of Taipei. The decision to extend the travel advisory "is based on information received by the WHO detailing the spread of SARS beyond that city," the agency said.
"The extent of local chains of transmission as well as the potential for spread beyond these areas were also major factors in the reasoning for this advice," WHO officials said, adding the advisory will be reassessed in the future to determine if it should be changed or "if additional precautionary measures are required."
Previous travel warnings about other areas of China remain in effect, the WHO said. This includes Beijing, Hong Kong, Guangdong, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi and Tianjin.
In addition, other "measures aimed at preventing the travel-related spread of SARS," such as screening air passengers departing from affected areas for symptoms of the disease, continue to apply, the agency said.
China reported 12 new cases and two deaths Tuesday. The country now has reported 5,249 cases of the illness and 296 deaths.
Hong Kong reported one new case and two additional deaths, giving it a total of 1,719 people infected and 255 fatalities.
Worldwide, 7,956 people in 28 countries have contracted SARS and 666 have died from the illness.
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