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gentle giant
Joined: 13 Mar 2003
Posts: 8
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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 Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2003 10:45 pm Post subject: How bad is SARS now in Taiwan? |
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I am scheduled to arrive in Taiwan April 17th. Health Canada is advising against all travel to Taiwan.
Is this something I should be worried about? Should I postphone my flight? Is it spreading at a fast pace, like it is in Singapore, HK, Hanoi, and Toronto? Maybe I watch too much news! Any help would be appreciated.
gg |
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TaoyuanSteve
Joined: 05 Feb 2003
Posts: 1028
Location: Taoyuan
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| Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2003 12:43 pm Post subject: |
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The last time I checked, Canada had ten times as many sars cases as Taiwan.
That said, of course, it's probably better to lay low and stay where you are until this thing blows over. |
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sa girl
Joined: 30 Apr 2003
Posts: 12
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| Posted: Fri May 02, 2003 7:59 am Post subject: how bad is SARS? |
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I have been offered a English teaching post in Taiwan, Maioli (10th May)and I am concerned about the SARS virus.
Could anyone please advice me if the virus is really that serious and the conditions in Taiwan at the moment please.
Your advice will greatly be appreciated.
email: [email protected]  [/b] |
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TaoyuanSteve
Joined: 05 Feb 2003
Posts: 1028
Location: Taoyuan
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| Posted: Sat May 03, 2003 3:11 pm Post subject: |
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| Don't come. The SARS situation has worsened. You should wait until the outbreak subsides, or at least peaks. |
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leslie
Joined: 08 Feb 2003
Posts: 235
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| Posted: Sat May 03, 2003 5:42 pm Post subject: |
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Bye
Last edited by leslie on Tue Feb 16, 2010 9:09 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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TheyCallMeTrinity
Joined: 02 Feb 2003
Posts: 44
Location: Taiwan, at the moment
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| Posted: Sun May 04, 2003 9:51 am Post subject: I agree: those here should vacation/those coming should wait |
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| TaoyuanSteve wrote: |
| Don't come. The SARS situation has worsened. You should wait until the outbreak subsides, or at least peaks. |
For once (amazing!) I actually agree with "Steve."
Here are some facts:
Until recently (like Yesterday) the WHO were NOT ALLOWED to assist Taiwan in attacking the disease. It was up to less than a handful of American CDC folk to assist in its dismal "preventitive measures." Taiwan STILL allows free travel of nationals to Hong Kong, China and other infected areas and there are rumblings that the so-called quarantining of visitors from China and such areas are not being quarantined compared to non-Chinese foreign nationals being locked in for 10 days. Some folks have speculated bribes are being tossed around by travel agents to ensure this. I am working on finding information (English or Chinese) to verify this. Here is some hard-core stuff that can be investigated if you need proof.
www.newsknowledge.com/export/f6c12e32070a8e65a52e797a5a48d2e4.html
They say that 5 schools were closed as of May 4th: Taipei city: 3, Miaoli county: 1, Hualien County: 1
Since 4/24/03 Ho Ping hospital has been quarantined. They shipped patients out to other municipalities (like Hsinchu) and so far, a high percentage of patients from there have died, including a 40-something year old nurse. Some patients turned away from NTU ended up here and in other hospitals and it is feared that they may be spreading the virus. One nurse violated human rights and took a bus from Taipei to Kaohsiung, fleeing the Ho Ping hospital situation and may have infected many people along the way. We will only know if cases turn up and steps are traced. The government simply threatened to fine the woman, even though she should be shot for knowingly doing such a dangerous thing. Mind you, she was a nurse - and most of the "medical professionals" at Taipei Ho Ping Municipal Hospital put up a crybaby show for the media.
If you were here to see this you'd be convinced it may be time to leave since most of the medical "professionals" here are misdiagnosing SARS (often not noticing it when it's there and noticing it when it's not really there - and failing to protect medical workers while far too many of the medical workers panic and pretend to want to kill themselves and have been runmored to neglect caring for patients - as local newspapers have reported) in a panic.
Two medical workers who refused the government order to be quarantined finally surrendered themselves - nearly one week AFTER the Ho Ping shuttering, and who knows if they have the disease and how many people they could have infected.
On 4/29 Ren Ji Hospital in Taipei was shuttered (Ho Ping is also in Taipei, btw), along with a military hospital.
According to that site: "102 probable, 102 suspected. Of the 7164 people who have been quarantined since the outbreak, 2217 have been released. "
This changes daily, if not hourly. By the time you read this it will be outdated.
Something scary and typical of the irresponsible expat minority here:
"Two teachers in Hualien county were put under quarantine, but reportedly left isolation. One returned. As of yesterday evening, the other's whereabouts were still unknown. Authorities are alleging that one of the teachers may have gone to teach in a bushiban."
Probably an illegal teacher, I bet (my speculation). If infected - this will be devistating.
"As of today, the Department of Health is saying that seven deaths can be considered directly related to SARS."
Technically it's 10, but three were ailing before they had developed SARS and the government here won't count 'em. That's the frightening thing. Statistics are slow here and the government here has been covering up and making excuses just like Beijing did during the first two months of the disease's outbreak. To further confuse things, one man who had SARS killed himself and they count this as a "Sars-related death," though SARS didn't kill him and he could possibly have lived, since his family were faring well to treatment. He was in the care of "Ho Ping' (Ironic, since "Ho Ping" means "Peace," but that's certainly not happening at the hospital).
The site also says: "On Friday, 5/2, two more people who had been experiencing SARS symptoms died, one an elderly Hsinchu resident, the other an Indonesian domestic worker.
Thursday (5/1) A 47 year-old senior nurse from the SARS ward of the Ho Ping Hospital died. She was already showing signs of illness by the 20th, 4 days before the hospital was closed. She was brought to the Ho Ping emergency room on the 20th, tansferred to NTU hospital the next day. NTU had no facilities to treat her condition, and she was sent on to the Linkou Chang Gun hospital where she died Thursday morning.
Tuesday (4/29) three men, aged 65, 52 and 47, died in the Ho Ping hospital. All were in the SARS quarantine section.
Saturday night (4/27) in Taichung a 57 year old man, who was a SARS patient, died.
Local television reported on 4/26 that three deaths occurred at the Ho Ping hospital. One, an elderly man, who was suspected of having the disease. The second, a suicide, who was in the SARS ward. The third another individual who was in the hospital for SARS symptoms."
Numbers mount and little really seems to be done outside of Taipei. This should be treated swiftly and with maximum resources, but the political infighting in the government only recently allocated funs - this after the island had been aware of the disease since MARCH - and its bread and butter comes from trips to Hong Kong and China. Chen Shui-bian and co. are Neros fiddling while their polluted "Rome" burns.
"It was announced Saturday 5/3 that all bushibans in Taipei city are now required to check the temperature of people entering the school. Many schools in other regions have begun doing this as well."
Some schools outside of Taipei are doing this, but not many. Maybe 5% from what I can gather in Miaoli, Hsinchu, and Chilong, and friend's reports in Taichung.
And some mystery resides regarding those unfortunate LEGAL expats who are infected:
"Teachers are considered White Collar workers. It has been announced that if a Blue Collar worker actually develops SARS, they will be allowed to stay in the country until they recover, but at that time will have to leave. Their ARCs will be canceled. Procedures for White Collar workers in similar situations have not been announced."
Typical for Taiwan: making rules before ironing out the major kinks. It's like teaching first aid and saying that all you ened to do is apply a band-aid to ANY injury and then worry about the rest when it gets worse. Rarely are questions asked.
Of course, people should be INFORMED but should NOT PANIC. Regardless, In a country where hygiene has been neglected since - well, since forever - and where they can't drive in a civilized fashion and selfishness and greed dictate all behavior - then there's room to panic. An example: how can they control a plague when they can't control the country's basic traffic rules? Then there is the overall lack of respect for human rights, individual rights, and the overall safety of others (more proof needed? Look at the island's traffic behavior outside of Taipei if given a chance).
The U. S. issued travel warnings and advisories and warns its citizens to stay away from ALL hospitals where suspected SARS patients are known to be treated. That's about as diplomatic as one can get in saying "They can't treat the disease nor contain it and short of pissing off our weapons-buying buddies we will simply say in a veiled way that you should get out and that their medical system cannot and will not protect you and should not be trusted."
The writing's on the wall. I don't want to go, as I have a niche I've worked hard to maintain here, but my life is more important than an island of greed and incompetence's slow destruction. Time for the two month vacation. More, if needed. |
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Miyazaki
Joined: 12 Jul 2005
Posts: 635
Location: My Father's Yacht
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| Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 2:46 pm Post subject: |
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| So, just out of curiousity, how many English teachers in Taiwan got SARS? |
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clark.w.griswald
Joined: 06 Dec 2004
Posts: 2056
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| Posted: Sat Dec 02, 2006 3:54 pm Post subject: |
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| I know of at least one! |
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englishgibson
Joined: 09 Mar 2005
Posts: 4345
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| Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 3:03 pm Post subject: |
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I don't know of any "SARS teachers" in Taiwan and neither I know of any recent cases there, but this old thread's caught my eye. Well, helpful Clarkie's knowledge's caught my eye as well.
SARS is as serious in Taiwan as anywhere in the world at the moment. 
Peace to SARS
and
cheers and beers to our forums knowledge and experience 
_____________________________________________________________
Reading forums will never contaminate one with SARS  |
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AQUA MARINA
Joined: 11 Mar 2003
Posts: 104
Location: Canada *In TAIWAN AUGUST 8TH!**
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| Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006 12:51 am Post subject: |
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| Any updates on the situation? I hope it will be ok for me to come down around May. |
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BigWally
Joined: 07 Jun 2006
Posts: 765
Location: Ottawa, CAN (prev. Kaohsiung "the Dirty South")
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| Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006 3:33 am Post subject: |
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| SARS was an issue in 2003, not anymore. |
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Toe Save
Joined: 04 Oct 2004
Posts: 202
Location: 'tween the pipes.........
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| Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006 3:46 am Post subject: |
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