Govt imports 1m masks from China in anti-SARS drive
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
With the battle to contain the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) intensifying, the government will import at least one million surgical masks later this week, an official said.
"We expect at least one million masks to arrive this week. The masks will be given mainly to suspected SARS patients, their families and those who have the potential to spread SARS," Minister of Health Achmad Sujudi said on Wednesday.
Sujudi said the masks cost Rp 2,500 (US$28 cents) each, but did not specify whether the masks would be sold or distributed for free to suspected SARS patients.
The government said earlier that it would shoulder all medical costs for people suspected to be infected with SARS.
State-owned pharmaceutical firms such as PT Kimia Farma and PT Indofarma will handle the imported masks, which will be coming from China, Sujudi said, adding that the masks would not come from SARS-affected Guangdong province.
"The masks are not the N-95 standard masks recommended by the World Health Organization, but they will help minimize the spread of SARS," Sujudi said.
Separately, Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla was quoted by news portal detik.com as saying that the government had allotted Rp 20 billion (US$2.2 million) to purchase masks.
The money will be taken from the 2003 state budget's Rp 120 billion emergency fund, the minister said.
The government announced on Tuesday that the number of suspected SARS cases was increasing, but said it was working to improve its preventative measures to curb the spread.
As of Wednesday, the number of suspected SARS patients in the country had reached 17, up from 16 the previous day.
Seven patients are being treated at the Sulianti Saroso Infectious Diseases Hospital in North Jakarta, one at the Banyumas Hospital in Central Java, and one at the Muwardi Hospital in Surakarta, Central Java.
The other eight patients have been allowed to return home, but are still required to report to a designated hospital to have their health monitored.
Hospitals across the country designated as SARS clinics have been told to prepare more isolation rooms in anticipation of a possible increase in the number of suspected SARS patients.
So far, SARS has infected 2,774 people in 17 countries, 103 of whom have died.
The Asia-Africa ministerial meeting planned for next week in Bandung, West Java, was postponed partly due to the SARS threat. And many airlines, including Garuda Indonesia and Merpati Airlines, have reduced their flights to Singapore because of SARS.
The minister of health said the government would announce on Thursday the results of clinical tests and X-ray verifications of suspected SARS patients. The tests were performed on Wednesday.
"We will not wait for verification from the Centers for Disease Control on specimens from the suspected SARS patients. Our team will examine suspected SARS patients based on an improved clinical test and X-rays, which is better than the criteria set by WHO," Sujudi said.
Among the criteria established by the World Health Organization for a SARS case to be verified is the stipulation that a SARS patient must have a contact history in a SARS- affected country.
The government also has established a team to trace the earlier movements of declared SARS patients, Sujudi said.
"This team will try to localize the spread of SARS once a SARS patient is found," he said
The minister also urged citizens to stop spitting in public as part of the campaign to prevent the spread of the deadly flu-like illness.
"SARS is a threat and we have to be careful.
"Wash your hands and do not spit in public. If you spit in public, then the illness can spread to other people."