Another RI worker infected with SARS in Taiwan<\/p>\n
Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Another Indonesian worker has been infected with the Severe Acute
\nRespiratory Syndrome (SARS) bug in Taiwan, bringing the number of
\nIndonesians suffering from the potentially lethal disease in the
\nterritory to 15 people, including three who died in late April
\nand early May.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the Indonesian Economic and Trade Office in Taipei
\nIskandar Sabirin said here on Wednesday that 12 Indonesian
\nworkers are now in SARS quarantine in Taiwan.<\/p>\n
\"These Indonesian workers are mostly caregivers for old
\npeople. When those people catch the virus, the caregivers will
\nlikely get infected as the virus can spread easily,\" Iskandar
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The SARS outbreak has spread rapidly in Taiwan, with an
\naverage of 35 new cases per day over the last three days,
\naccording to a World Health Organization (WHO) report.<\/p>\n
The UN body also reported that Taiwan currently had 383
\nprobable SARS cases with 52 fatalities.<\/p>\n
Iskandar also clarified that the three Indonesian workers who
\ndied in Taiwan in late April and early this month were all
\nworking as caregivers, not medical nurses.<\/p>\n
Commenting on Taiwan's plan to give NT$ 1 million (US$27,780)
\nto the relatives of each Indonesian worker who died of SARS
\nthere, Iskandar said his office was willing to act on behalf of
\nthe families if they could not honor the invitation to come in
\nperson to receive the money.<\/p>\n
Separately, Wahyu Susilo, the Executive Secretary to the
\nConsortium for the Indonesian Migrant Workers Advocacy (Kopbumi),
\ntold The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that after the publication
\nlast week of the monetary compensation, many irresponsible people
\nwere offering certain kinds of \"help\" to the families of the
\nvictims to represent them in the handing-over ceremony in Taipei.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the government here began a trial procedure using a
\nthermal scanner to detect people with high fever at the Soekarno-
\nHatta International Airport SARS-affected countries on Tuesday
\nevening.<\/p>\n
\"The trial period is needed to find out the accuracy of the
\nscanner and estimate the time needed,\" said Syafii Anwar, the
\nsecretary to the Directorate General of Communicable Disease and
\nEnvironmental Health.<\/p>\n
Sutisnawan, product development manager from the Semarang-
\nbased PT Agape Trikarsa, the company that supplied the ministry
\nwith the equipment, said the scanner could deviate by as much as
\n2.5 degrees Celsius.<\/p>\n
He also said that the thermal scanner, manufactured by NEC, a
\nJapanese cooperation, was priced at Rp 300 million (US$33,330)
\nper unit. The same type is being used in China.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/another-ri-worker-infected-with-sars-in-taiwan-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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