TT must be on SARS alert

THE EDITOR: I feel certain that SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) will reach Trinidad sooner than later because of the fact that it is in Canada and we have very regular travel between the people of here and there.

The question arises of how prepared are we. There have been a few seminars for workers in the health sector at the Eric Williams Medical Complex in Mount Hope, concerning the SARS virus, and yet many workers in this sector have been saying that nothing has been put in place. As a citizen of this country, I too am very much concerned as there is no cure against the virus at present and there seems to be none coming shortly. You must remember that scientists around the world are still searching for a cure for the common cold over a hundred years now and the SARS virus sounds very much like that. It is very important that we look at the word quarantine and what the word implies. We all know that quarantine is basically a period of detention of 40 days or isolation for a person or persons entering a country infected or suspected of carrying a particular disease.

Assuming that the SARS virus starts popping up in our country, how exactly does the Ministry of Health plan to deal with it? The public should know! We’ve seen footage in Hong Kong, where persons suspected of having the SARS virus, were attempting to jump through windows of quarantined buildings. Trinbagonians are the type of people who do not act until things happen. A good example of this is in Laventille, where police are now trying to control murders. I know it is not wise to panic the population about SARS but there should be regular bulletins about SARS from the Ministry of Health as to possible actions that would be taken when the virus hits Trinidad. Isn’t it funny that at a time when the world needs our scientists and technologists in the medical field more than ever our doctors are fighting over salary and vacation.

MICKELL  GUNNESSLAL
Siparia