Source: Reuters
Travelers quarantined in a Hong Kong hotel for a week after a Mexican guest tested positive for H1N1 flu (swine flu) expressed frustration on Saturday at the tough steps and a medical expert said authorities had over-reacted.
Police wearing surgical masks sealed off the Metropark hotel on Friday night after test results on the 25-year-old Mexican man were confirmed. They ordered the approximately 200 guests and 100 staff to stay in the hotel for the next seven days.
The measures taken by the authorities in Hong Kong underscore the concern here about the new flu and the confirmed case, Asia's first. Hong Kong was badly hit by the SARS virus in 2003 and has had many episodes of H5N1 bird flu for more than a decade.
"As this is the first confirmed case in the Greater China region and there is still little information about the severeness of the influenza, we need to be very cautious in dealing with the situation. We decided to take comprehensive and stringent measures to prevent any massive outbreak in Hong Kong," a government spokeswoman said.
Officials said no one would be allowed to leave the hotel in the Wanchai district, an area popular with tourists.
"It just feels surreal because you are trapped," said Juliet Keys, who arrived from Singapore on Thursday to attend and planned to leave on Sunday.
"I'm fine but it is a bit frustrating because I have a three-and-a-half year old daughter (and husband) in Singapore."
Brice Chevallereau, a French tourist, checked into the hotel on Friday afternoon but did not stay the night. When he returned to the hotel on Saturday, he was told by authorities he would have to be quarantined.
"Why do I have to go inside?" Chevallereau asked. "I just stayed two minutes in the lobby. It's not fair."
That's insane. Yes I understand once it's discovered that one guy may have it that staff at the hotel should wear masks. But you can't hold everyone in the hotel for days! And why make the french guy go BACK IN? That's stupid!
Aren't there symptoms for this thing? Can't you tell who might have it and who doesn't? Don't people cough or feel dizzy or something? You can't trap an entire hotel just cause one guy walked through it. What's next? Are they going to suspend airplanes in midair cause one guy from Mexico is on it and the plane has nowhere to land?
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5 comments:
It is easy for you to criticise without showing any concern about the health of the locals. And the 7 days quarantine is NOT insane, but plain sensible. I bet you'd do the same to us if that happens in your country, so stop whining, wanker.
So you would not go home for 7 days even though you know you don't have the flu and have been nowhere near that man. And you wouldn't complain.. ya right.
People are really pissed off.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2009/05/03/2003442656
It is happening in my country. Canada's had at least a dozen cases and the government and doctors have isolated it and handled it well. They have not had to close hotels or barricade innocent people who didn't even come close to the person infected.
A seven day quarantine for swine flu is NOT reasonable. Even more highly communicable, and dangerous, diseases have been approached with more sensible quarantining procedures. The primary medical symptom of swine flu has been to make political leaders lose their minds.
Once again, will you wankers do the same to us if you find a SARS patient in your soil ? Chances are, you will. If not they would just be blocked and attacked in the airport. It is not reasonable, against human rights, blah blah blah only because the rights of the whites are breached.
Again, all the craps about the place turning dirty is pure hearsay, and remember you're the ones from the contaminated place so stop complaining, whiners and losers.
JYM wrote:
Roger Williams or whatever you like to call yourself: listen, you dweeb, NO ONE FORCE THEM TO STAY IN THE FUCKING HOTEL.From the story itself:
Police wearing surgical masks sealed off the Metropark hotel on Friday night after test results on the 25-year-old Mexican man were confirmed. They ordered the approximately 200 guests and 100 staff to stay in the hotel for the next seven days.So yeah, completely voluntary ... except for the part where they were ordered by the fucking police to stay there for a week.
It's one thing to be a dim witted troll, but another thing entirely to be a semi-literate one. You get an A for effort, but an F- for execution and follow through.
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