Public Calls For Quarantine To Contain SARS
By Rosli Abidin Yahya

Bandar Seri Begawan - The world is now being gripped by the fear of the deadly mystery flu, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) with the local population suggesting for visitors and returning locals from the affected countries to be quarantined.

Even tough it may burden the nation but this could be a most effective way to stop the virus from infecting the local population and spreading it, they said.

"We must quarantine those arriving from affected nations and only let them out after they have been certified free of SARS.

"Without this precaution, we could be facing a catastrophe as we could not stop people of affected areas from coming here or the locals travelling to affected areas," they said.

Health Ministry had said officially that this country is free from SARS but there is no guarantee that a single carrier of the killer flu may not cause large-scale catastrophe and upheaval.

Some parents meanwhile had opted to keep their children home into the second day of the school's second term yesterday.

"I do not want to take a risk as some of the students have had their holidays at affected areas and could be a silent carrier," said a father.

Some schools also reported there were substantial absentees to classes as a result of the killer flu fear.

A mother said she called up her boy's school stating that she was keeping her child at home because of SARS.

"The school told me not to worry as some other parents had done the same thing too," she said.

Apart from cancelling travel plans overseas whether to affected areas or not, some members of the public also decided to minimise going out of their homes.

"I am minimising outings especially when reports said SARS can be transmitted within a metre from an infected person and contaminate objects for three hours.

"Officially our country is free of the disease but I just would not take the risk especially when I am easily affected by the normal flu," said a member of the public.

SARS is causing more concern to local people than the war in Iraq.

"We can minimise risk of being caught in crossfire by not going to the war region and its vicinity.

"But SARS is so deadly that every now and then we learn about someone dying in an affected area and even in a newly infected country.

"Unless there is a vaccine available people would need to lessen their activities," observers commented.

Brudirect.com