Those suspected of SARS find discrimination<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A young woman recently found herself stranded when state-owned PT
\nPelni refused to allow her on board passenger ship KM Sinabung as
\nshe attempted to leave Batam island for her home in Cirebon, West
\nJava.<\/p>\n
The women had recently been isolated at Batam General Hospital
\nbecause it was suspected that she had Severe Acute Respiratory
\nSyndrome (SARS). Her name was never made public.<\/p>\n
She was eventually cleared by the hospital and discharged, but
\nthat apparently did not satisfy Pelni.<\/p>\n
Johny Pandigerot, the head of the Pelni office at the Sekupang
\nPort in Batam, said his company's policy was not to allow those
\nsuspected of being infected with SARS on board its ships.<\/p>\n
\"We have no special rooms for passengers with infectious
\ndiseases like SARS. We require an official letter from the local
\nhealth authorities if such a passenger wants to board our ship,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
A member of the local social affairs office in Batam, Jamaris,
\nexpressed his disappointment with Pelni's decision not to allow
\nthe woman to board the ship.<\/p>\n
\"We purchased a ticket for her and she was allowed to go home
\nbecause she had been declared free of SARS. So why did Pelni
\nreject her?\" he asked.<\/p>\n
The families of people suspected of being infected with SARS
\nhave also had a difficult time dealing with the disease and its
\nconsequences.<\/p>\n
\"We just believed what the doctors said. The doctors said our
\ndaughter had to be quarantined so I let my daughter be
\nquarantined. We just want her to recover soon,\" said a father
\nwhose daughter was isolated at the Karyadi Hospital in Semarang,
\nCentral Java, after she displayed the symptoms of SARS.<\/p>\n
Authorities and hospitals have not released the identities of
\npatients suspected of having SARS to try and prevent
\ndiscrimination.<\/p>\n
The man's daughter worked as a domestic helper in Hong Kong
\nfor 18 months. She was taken to the hospital after she came down
\nwith a fever and had respiratory problems soon after she returned
\nto Kendal, Central Java, last week.<\/p>\n
The Karyadi General Hospital has cleared her of SARS
\ninfection, but she has been kept in the hospital for treatment
\nfor pneumonia.<\/p>\n
The government has declared SARS to be a national threat. The
\ndisease has claimed victims in China, Hong Kong and Singapore,
\nand doctors still have not found a cure for it.<\/p>\n
Human rights activist Daniel Pandjaitan of the Indonesian
\nLegal Aid Foundation has said suspected SARS sufferers and their
\nfamilies must be informed of the procedures they must go through
\nif they are hospitalized.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/those-suspected-of-sars-find-discrimination-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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