SARS discussions - May 22 onwards

It won’t, of course. But it’s not really meant to. This is about getting to hold referendums themselves (which could be about all kinds of things), not the WHO.

So rather than keep our eye on the ball, let’s chase around after will-o’-the-wisps. Hmmm.

TNT wrote: Zen it seems you may be making a mountain out of a mole hill here.

Perhaps, but like I said, I’d gone along with the mask policies up until now, and I felt strongly about teaching the kids without my mouth being covered. It was for the sake of the kids, and the quality of the teaching, not for me. They all wear the masks during the lessons, so they’re safe from teachers germs regardless.

Worked out. I got the info I needed and the school has agreed to keep things as is.

Has anybody heard anything about school closures? I am having a hard time finding out what and if the government policy is. I heard somewhere that if Taiwan reaches 500 cases then schools will close?

Thanks in advance.

[quote]From: aitvisa [mailto:aitvisa@mail.ait.org.tw]
Sent: Friday, May 23, 2003 2:05 AM
To: warden-message
Subject: Warden Message - TAIWAN - ILLNESS OF U.S. CDC TEAM MEMBER -
5-23-2003

Dear Warden,

Please share with your community the following information.
Regards,
Consular Section
American Institute in Taiwan

TAIWAN - ILLNESS OF U.S. CDC TEAM MEMBER

A member of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC)
team in Taiwan developed a fever and respiratory symptoms. The Team member
was admitted to a hospital for evaluation on May 22.

The Taiwan Department of Health, the Taiwan Center for Disease Control, and
the Taipei City Bureau of Health all have been notified. All Taiwan health
authority recommendations and guidelines are being followed.

In accordance with U.S. CDC global protocols, the team member is being
medically evacuated to Atlanta, Ga. If you have questions regarding the
condition of the U.S. CDC team member, we would refer you to the U.S. CDC in
Atlanta for further details.

The other members of the U.S. CDC team have not exhibited similar symptoms,
but in order to ensure that all precautions are taken, their conditions are
being monitored. The team is following and will continue to follow Taiwan
health authority recommendations.

The medical evacuation is being conducted consistent with U.S. CDC global
protocols and is not related to the availability and adequacy of medical
care in Taiwan. The U.S. CDC team remains in Taiwan and continues to assist
Taiwan in its fight against SARS.
[/quote]

So, let me get this straight: the guy whose fever shut down the Lai Lai Sheraton for 3 days yesterday is a member of the US CDC?

That’s gotta be a bad sign

From a CNA story: “When one suspected SARS case is found in a class, the whole class will be placed in quarantine recess. In instances where two suspected cases are found in a school, the entire school will be placed in quarantine recess.”

Five hundred SARS cases was being thrown around earlier as a possible point at which an emergency decree (which wouldn’t be specifically for schools) could be issued. But officials seem to be backing off from that recently. (We’re in the 480s now.)

SARS came from space, suggest astrobiologists

Well, the letter was published in the medical journal The Lancet so it does have some credibility. Still I wouldn’t take it too seriously. If you read the article closely it does raise the more interesting (and realistic) possibility that microorganisms could spread around the Earth via the upper atmosphere.

==================

Civet cat the source of Sars

[added later] Surprise, surprise. It doesn’t come from outer space, but from our feline friends. The civet cat has been named as the source of the SARS virus according to researchers at the University of Hong Kong. It doesn’t say whether the virus crossed to humans because they kept them as pets or ate them :smiling_imp: But knowing the kind of menagerie that accompanies many restaurants in Guangdong my bet is on the latter.

And I just found this article which confirms my suspicions: Shenzhen chef’s taste for exotic animals may be to blame

[cigarette break, cage door open slightly ajar, see last post page 1]

wix, may i remind you, and others, that Sandman wrote yesterday:

“It would help if [wix and others] would stop posting [their] interminable links to “news items” about SARS that are nothing more than continuous rehashes and regurgitations of other stories. Yes , we get the picture – lots of media sources are reporting on SARS. Do you have another point to make?”

is this point clear or does Sandman need to repeat it one more time?

formosa, may I remind you that yesterday you said you would be going into quarantine until September :laughing:

Uh Uh, Formosa. Wix’s links were interesting and, more importantly, hadn’t been seen before. Yours on the other hand have tended to be mere rehashes of news we’ve all seen dozens of times already. I’m always keen to read a new or interesting take on the issue. The links provided by Wix, Blueface, etc. are like having the web surfed for you, whereas yours are like watching the TVBS news channel – the same stuff, recycled endlessly for the entire day.
Now get back in your cage.

aha, i see! selective prosecution, sandman! Now we see your true colors. If I didn’t know you better, I’d say you are a quick at the trigger fascist, with a snappy savvy mouth.

But I know you better. You’re just a tender rabblerouser and you know how to rouse the rabble. You da man, as I have always said.

Oh, so others can post links but formosa can’t? If that’s the case on this democratic forum, then I’m breaking outta jail tonight and coming back with vengeance tomorrow.

Sandman, had you just kept quiet, I would have stayed in jail. You never learn, Boy!

Link all you like. I’m not the moderator here. But please, read more of the damn articles than just the headline before you post. If its been said before and offers nothing new, pass.

It’s more like a cheap, roadside Chinese opera troupe. Lots of screaming, banging, running around… all for no discernable reason… or final result.[/quote]
LOL! Spot on!

It’s funny (well, not really …) that the government over the past few days had reported that most of the new SARS cases were now occuring in southern Taiwan and that the situation was nearly under control in Taipei … however, this morning CNN reported that around two-thirds of new SARS cases were still in the “Greater Taipei Area” …

Another thing I’ve started to notice … people seem to be less concerned now … sort of like the latest fad has become boring, and they’re starting to let their guard down. It’s amazing to me how society works here sometimes … people really seem to have a short attention span.

Isn’t it the case that a lot of those “new cases” in metropolitan Taipei are just reclassifications of old cases, not really new cases? (Taiwan had been using a different classisfication system than the WHO.) That should make for a one-time jump in the figures though not necessarily actual infections.

Was I mistaken or did the WHO state that SARS can be transmitted from contact with feces and urine. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to stop leaving bags of shit filled toilet paper in every bathroom in this almost country.

It would be a good idea but if we ever try to suggest that something can be done better we get “This is Taiwan, you don’t understand” etc…

I have been sidetracked for a couple of days, but some thoughts on a couple of comments made here, both before and after the great SARS discussion split.

Incubus wrote:

Just don’t play with the stuff and you’ll be fine. :slight_smile:

Actually, I think you’re mistaken about urine. Feces, though, is a definite baddie.

[quote]Prof Yuen said it was unlikely that people had been infected by eating civets. But the virus may have jumped into humans as they raised, slaughtered and cooked them.

Civet is one of the main ingredients in the exotic wildlife dish “dragon-tiger-phoenix soup”, for which wealthy Chinese in Guangdong province will pay large sums. [/quote]
Cause of SARS?