RI picked as ASEAN information center on SARS

Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia has been chosen by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as its Information Center for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), a government official says.

Health Minister Achmad Sujudi said on Thursday that the decision was made during the recently concluded ASEAN SARS summit in Bangkok.

The Ministry of Health, according to Sujudi, has launched a website on SARS: http://www.aseandiseasesurveillance.net.

Sujudi, as quoted by Antara, also said that Thailand was chosen as the base country for the research center on SARS epidemiology, while Malaysia was the research center for SARS treatment.

The Southeast Asian leaders also agreed Tuesday to increase health screening for all international passengers.

Meanwhile, a probable SARS patient in Medan, North Sumatra, was discharged from the Adam Malik Hospital on Thursday. He was declared healthy and was allowed to leave the hospital.

But two other new patients suspected of having SARS were admitted to the Sulianti Saroso Infectious Diseases Hospital in North Jakarta on Thursday.

Secretary for the Directorate General on Communicable Diseases Eradication and Environmental Health (P2M), Syafi'i Ahmad, said one of the patients was a 31-year old Taiwanese businessman who had just arrived from Taiwan at the airport in Surabaya on Wednesday.

The other was a 27-year old Indonesian who had just arrived from Taiwan at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

The Sulianti Suroso Hospital has also been treating a 22-year old patient in the past three days. He transited in Singapore on a flight from Bangkok.

Indonesia's first probable SARS case was a Briton who fled to Hong Kong after he was discharged from hospital.

The latest report issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) said that the atypical pneumonia, believed to be caused by a coronavirus, had caused 5,663 infections worldwide with 372 fatalities.

P2M director Umar Fahmi Achmadi said Thursday that the government would purchase thermal scanners to be placed at international airports and seaports.

Such scanners are now used by Singapore and Thailand at their international airports.

Several airports that would employ the scanners were Soekarno- Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Ngurah Rai Airport in Denpasar, Polonia Airport in Medan and the Batam International Airport.

Canadian Ambassador to Indonesia Ferry de Kerckhove said Thursday that his country had worked hard to contain the outbreak in Canada and their efforts had paid off, as reflected by the World Health Organization lifting its travel advisory against non-essential travel to Toronto.

He said the government would continue to monitor the situation carefully.