Another RI worker infected with SARS in Taiwan

Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Another Indonesian worker has been infected with the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) bug in Taiwan, bringing the number of Indonesians suffering from the potentially lethal disease in the territory to 15 people, including three who died in late April and early May.

Chairman of the Indonesian Economic and Trade Office in Taipei Iskandar Sabirin said here on Wednesday that 12 Indonesian workers are now in SARS quarantine in Taiwan.

"These Indonesian workers are mostly caregivers for old people. When those people catch the virus, the caregivers will likely get infected as the virus can spread easily," Iskandar said.

The SARS outbreak has spread rapidly in Taiwan, with an average of 35 new cases per day over the last three days, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) report.

The UN body also reported that Taiwan currently had 383 probable SARS cases with 52 fatalities.

Iskandar also clarified that the three Indonesian workers who died in Taiwan in late April and early this month were all working as caregivers, not medical nurses.

Commenting on Taiwan's plan to give NT$ 1 million (US$27,780) to the relatives of each Indonesian worker who died of SARS there, Iskandar said his office was willing to act on behalf of the families if they could not honor the invitation to come in person to receive the money.

Separately, Wahyu Susilo, the Executive Secretary to the Consortium for the Indonesian Migrant Workers Advocacy (Kopbumi), told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that after the publication last week of the monetary compensation, many irresponsible people were offering certain kinds of "help" to the families of the victims to represent them in the handing-over ceremony in Taipei.

Meanwhile, the government here began a trial procedure using a thermal scanner to detect people with high fever at the Soekarno- Hatta International Airport SARS-affected countries on Tuesday evening.

"The trial period is needed to find out the accuracy of the scanner and estimate the time needed," said Syafii Anwar, the secretary to the Directorate General of Communicable Disease and Environmental Health.

Sutisnawan, product development manager from the Semarang- based PT Agape Trikarsa, the company that supplied the ministry with the equipment, said the scanner could deviate by as much as 2.5 degrees Celsius.

He also said that the thermal scanner, manufactured by NEC, a Japanese cooperation, was priced at Rp 300 million (US$33,330) per unit. The same type is being used in China.