Just got a quick email from back home and my Ma said that on last night’s news (i.e about 1 hour ago here), they said that a hospital worker got diagnosed with SARS. I can’t find anything about it in the papers yet, but will be keeping my eye out. Just a heads up for everyone. Hope it’s only the one case this time.
Taiwan Confirms One SARS Patient
By REUTERS
Published: December 16, 2003
TAIPEI (Reuters) - A researcher at a military hospital in Taiwan has tested positive for the SARS virus after traveling to Singapore a few days earlier, an official in Taipei said on Wednesday. It was the first reported case of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome virus in more than three months . . .
nytimes.com/reuters/internat … -sars.html
I don’t understand it - it doesn’t seem to have been picked up by the Taipei Times or the China Post, at least from their web sites. I took sound bites of local news channels and they weren’t talking about it either.
Why would the Taipei Times bother with scary stories about SARS when they’ve got 1 picture of naked men in Manila, 1 picture of Gwyneth Paltrow showing her nipples, 1 picture of playboy bunnies and other important stuff like that to publish in today’s paper.
Ok, to be fair, the government might have released the information after last night’s deadline. Surprised to hear the local media aren’t playing it though, the story hammered the stock market this morning.
HG
MT, you do like to read quality papers, don’t you? 
MT, ha ha. And Apple Daily is being asked to cut down on the sex?
HG, I finally found the original release on the Taiwan CDC website. It was dated Dec 17, so yeah, it was probably after printing deadlines. But still… that doesn’t explain the non-appearance on their websites. Not that I’ve gone back to double-check.
Shimmers.
You are right of course. Still I don’t really think either paper (we don’t count that blue thing anymore, do we?) has the facilities or even the desire to maintain their websites nearly as mush as they perhaps should.
You have to view these rags as being a part of the great futile push to teach Taiwan English. Now if the English news was ahead of the Chinese news, god forbid, no one would understand it. 
I just hope this isn’t going to get suddenly bigger. I’ve got my heart very much set on flying to Oz via Vietnam on Saturday. By all means quarantine me out of returning, but please don’t stop me leaving. This has been one hell of a year and I really realy want to sink my feet into a nice beach for a spot of surfing.
HG
this is bad. bad.
it’s on all the TV news channels now. i am, how shall i say it, worried…
i predict – no, no dire scaremonger predictions this time around. i am a reformed saraaholic. this time, i will be on everyone else’s side, and fight this thing together, with common sense and dignity.
(help)!
[quote=“formosa”]this is bad. bad.
it’s on all the TV news channels now. I am, how shall I say it, worried…
I predict – no, no dire scaremonger predictions this time around. I am a reformed saraaholic. this time, I will be on everyone else’s side, and fight this thing together, with common sense and dignity.
(help)![/quote]
Oh god … not again … 
that guy should be shot…according to cnn he was rushing to finish an experiment before flying to singapore and accidently infected himself…how typically taiwanese is that?
The victim is a research scientist at a military-run research institute. Officials are saying he became infected before he ever left for Singapore. Plus, his job was actually working with the SARS virus. So you have to ask yourself – not you Formosa – is the disease makng a comeback or did this one guy make a mistake while handling his samples?
I know what my gut tells me.
On another note, I have a godawful cold, sore muscles, sore throat, fatigue, but no fever – yet. I feel shitty.
[quote=“sandman”]I know what my gut tells me.[/quote]“I want beer”, right ?
This case was caught in a contained lab, SARS is not out in the open, it is not among the general population.
My concern isn’t so much with the possibility of another mass outbreak, but more on how the Taiwan and other government’s will react . . well only until I leave on Saturday.
HG
i 2nd that…i’m on a plane to the land of smiles 9am sat. morning…no bastard better get in my way is all i can say
Time to break out the face masks and start queueing for temperature checks. Already got email from AIT:
[quote]The Taiwan authorities reported today, Wednesday, December 17, 2003, that a case of SARS has been identified in Taipei. The authorities have
mandated that, effective tomorrow, temperature checks and SARS screening will be conducted at all schools and public institutions in Taipei. AIT will start temperature screening Thursday morning, December 18, 2003.[/quote]
I’m not that worried about a disease which you only have a 98% chance of surviving if you’re one of the 3 in a million who manage to contract it outside of a hospital setting. I’m just worried about all this stupid fucking temperature checks at every door and masks everywhere bullshit again. And Formosa’s overreaction of course.
brian
[quote=“Huang Guang Chen”]Shimmers.
I just hope this isn’t going to get suddenly bigger. I’ve got my heart very much set on flying to Oz via Vietnam on Saturday. By all means quarantine me out of returning, but please don’t stop me leaving. This has been one hell of a year and I really realy want to sink my feet into a nice beach for a spot of surfing.
HG[/quote]
Nobody was ever prevented from leaving Taiwan during SARS. I flew home to the U.S. for vacation right in the middle of the crisis last spring.
Check in at the airport was a breeze. No lines! Hardly any people there. It was kind of eery actually.
Anyway, don’t worry. Noone is going to make you stay in Taiwan, even if SARS makes a comeback.
[quote]Nobody was ever prevented from leaving Taiwan during SARS. I flew home to the U.S. for vacation right in the middle of the crisis last spring.
Check in at the airport was a breeze. No lines! Hardly any people there. It was kind of eery actually.
Anyway, don’t worry. Noone is going to make you stay in Taiwan, even if SARS makes a comeback[/quote]
Right, except that thge country you want to go to might not let you in and Taiwan might not let you return.
Brian
I’m looking forward to being able to sit down on the bus, not have to wait in line at Mos Burger, go to a store without being crammed in wall to wall, etc.