Rp 1b allotted in thwart spread of SARS

Rp 1b allotted in thwart spread of SARS

JAKARTA: The city administration has made an emergency
allocation of Rp 1 billion to counteract the threat of Severe
Acute Respiratory Syndrome, a health official said.

City Health Agency director A. Chalik Masulili said that the
money was being taken from the disaster relief fund maintained by
his agency, beritajakarta.com reported.

He also said that people should not panic due to the lack of
masks on the market as not everybody needed a mask. Only health
officials who had direct contact with patients and patients'
families needed masks.

People who have no direct contact with suspected cases of SARS
should not overreact by wearing masks, he added.

He made his comments during a briefing on SARS in City Hall on
Thursday, which was attended by district and subdistrict
officials. --JP