SARS suspect's firm takes no precautions
Multa Fidrus and Moch N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang/Jakarta
The government has declared that a British national who worked in Tangerang, Banten, was probably infected by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). But it was business as usual at the company where he worked as the management and the workers did not seem to be taking any precautions against contracting the virus.
The British man is an executive of PT Sandrafine Garment factory that produces shirts under the brandnames of Levis, Rocker and Christoper. It is located on Jl. Siliwangi, in Jatiuwung district, Tangerang municipality.
All workers in the production section are obliged to use masks, but this has nothing to do with protecting themselves against SARS. The wearing of masks is a standard procedure implemented long before the disease came to public attention.
When The Jakarta Post visited the factory compound on Wednesday, none of the workers showed any sign of fears of SARS.
Some of them even took off their masks as they did not feel comfortable wearing them in such hot weather.
One of the factory's 2,000 workers told the Post that the British man was about 40 years old and worked as one of production managers in the factory.
"He had been to Singapore for a week, but when he returned (earlier this month), he complained of flu-like symptoms and was directly rushed to Siloam Gleneagles Hospital in Karawaci," he said.
He said that the factory manager usually had close contact with management staff members and supervisors in the factory.
Asmailus, the company human resource development manager, could not be reached for comment.
The British man is the only patient with probable SARS here. He was transferred from Siloam Gleneagles Hospital to the Sulianti Saroso Infectious Diseases Hospital in Sunter, North Jakarta, on April 9 and is still being treated there.
According to an official source, the man had traveled to Hong Kong and Singapore, before returning to Jakarta on April 2. The government, however, had complained that the patient was not cooperative as he, for example, refused to mention the flight he took.
On Wednesday, Tjandra Yoga, head of the government verification team said there were a total of three suspected SARS cases and one probable SARS case in Indonesia.
One new suspected SARS patient, an Indonesian, had frequented Thailand and Singapore and was being treated at Sulianto Saroso Hospital, Tjandra said.
He also promised to bring the problem of the British man with probable SARS as well as his company to the daily meeting of the investigating team.
Meanwhile chief of Tangerang municipal health agency Nuriman Machyudin refused to provide any information about the issue. He told the Post on Wednesday that he was still tracking down the identity of the British man.