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Overseas Filipino workers were urged
Tuesday to make a "sacrifice" by not coming home during the Holy
Week to help spare the Philippines from the Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome (SARS) virus.
Bishop Ramon Arguelles, chairman of the Catholic Bishops Conference
of the Philippines' Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of
Migrants and Itinerant People, said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
was correct to appeal to OFWs, especially those in SARS-hit Hong
Kong, to postpone their vacations here.
"I think they should hold off their trips lest they cause the spread
of the disease here. It is a sacrifice, but worth taking for the
sake of others," the bishop told reporters.
At the Department of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Secretary Blas Ople
said he had instructed officials at Philippine diplomatic posts
abroad to institute contingency measures to prevent the spread of
SARS among OFWs.
The measures include the setting up of a SARS desk at every embassy
or consulate to dispense the latest information on the killer
disease and to monitor the incidence of SARS among Filipinos in each
area.
"This is part of the preventive measures ordered by the President,"
Ople said, adding that access to official reports of the World
Health Organization and the Department of Health would help reduce
panic among Filipinos abroad.
Ople also said the Philippines was fortunate to have no confirmed
SARS case so far. But he maintained that special attention should be
given to the health needs of OFWs, including seafarers who travel
from port to port.
He said he had also instructed embassy officials in China to make
sure that all Filipinos working there were properly informed on SARS.
There are 700 Filipinos in China's Guangdong province, where the
disease is believed to have originated.
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, Filipinos in China
remain calm and have kept to their normal routines despite the SARS
outbreak. Hospital employees, however, are required to wear
protective masks while on duty.
FILIPINO RELIGIOUS GROUP IN CANADA QUARANTINED
All 500 members of a Filipino Catholic charismatic group in Toronto,
Canada were quarantined for 10 days by health authorities after a
cluster of 29 possible cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
were linked to the group, Canadian media reported Monday.
Three children are among the reported possible SARS cases. Doctors
treating them said they were in good health.
Members of the Bukas-Loob sa Diyos Covenant group came into contact
with SARS at the funeral of a SARS victim two weeks ago, according
to Toronto chief health officer, Dr. Sheela Basrur in a Canada.com
report.
The Globe and Mail newspaper reported on its website that about 100
employees of the Toronto city government were also quarantined for
three days since two colleagues who belonged to the group were
possible SARS cases.
Canada.com quoted Basrur as saying the group was displaying
"exemplary leadership" in cooperating with health officials. The
Winnipeg Sun also quoted a community leader as saying the group had
canceled all Holy Week services.
The Globe and Mail, however, reported that two members of the
community were resisting quarantine, forcing authorities to resort
to legal measures to enforce it.
The possible mass exposure alarmed Canadian health authorities.
The Globe and Mail quoted a source who likened the situation to that
of the Amoy Gardens since the BLD Covenant Community is closely knit
and hold frequent prayer meetings and gatherings.
The Amoy Gardens is a Hong Kong apartment complex that became the
center of a SARS outbreak there
"All the stops have to come out now," Donald Low, chief
microbiologist at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital told the Globe and
Mail "We have a short window of opportunity to try and contain
this."
Basrur said that 10 of the 29 were probable case of SARS while the
rests were suspect cases.
Probable cases have both the symptoms of the disease and a history
of contact with known SARS victims or of having traveled to areas
where SARS cases have been reported.
Suspect cases show only symptoms of the disease.
Canada has had 287 probable or suspected cases of the disease
according to official government data as of April 14. Thirteen
Canadians have died from SARS.
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