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Foreigners amenable to quarantine move
By Matt Hodges in Shanghai and Cui Xiaohuo in Beijing (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-05-06 07:41 Having two dozen "astronauts" turn up on her front door at the weekend and a policeman guarding it ever since has not gone down well with Mexico's Rosy Whitehead. But her American husband is more philosophical about China's response to the flu. "They just want to keep everyone healthy," Neil Whitehead told China Daily by phone yesterday, his fourth day in house-bound quarantine in Shanghai. "The government's primary concern is public safety. Sure we're inconvenienced, but it's keeping everyone healthy, and it's keeping people from panicking. "This is a little boring for us, being in the house, but we'll do whatever they tell us to do," added Whitehead. The two language teachers have lived in Shanghai for seven years.
Rosy Whitehead and her husband are under observation because her brother-in-law, Celestino Alcala, flew to the city on Thursday on the same flight as a 25-year-old Mexican man who was subsequently diagnosed by Hong Kong authorities as having been infected by H1N1 influenza. The Whiteheads are among dozens of foreigners, including Mexicans, Americans and Canadians, under a strict medical quarantine nationwide for fear the deadly virus could spread to China. As of yesterday, there was no other confirmed case in the country, nor did anyone show symptoms in major cities. The Mexican government criticized China over the weekend for quarantining Mexican nationals and suspending flights to the Central American country to help stem the spread of the flu. The Foreign Ministry yesterday said China's quarantine measures were in line with the Law on the Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, and the Frontier Health and Quarantine Law of China. Gabriela Johnson, a 35-year-old Mexican housewife, thought China was working "too hard" in following the example set by Western countries five years ago during SARS. "But during SARS, Mexico didn't cancel flights to China," she said. Her compatriot Guillermo Garcia said he was concerned by the amount of misinformation by various governments and the media. "I think information has sometimes been exaggerated," he said. "At first they said there were almost 200 casualties in Mexico, then, a week later, it happened to be 17, so this is kind of strange. The image of Mexico has been very damaged." Yet the majority of European and American expats interviewed by China Daily supported the government's response to the threat of yet another potential scourge in the wake of SARS, bird flu (2004) and recent reports of hand-foot-and-mouth disease in Anhui province. "It's a very big risk, so I totally understand what they are doing," said the Czech Republic's Ales Cervinka, whose Chinese wife is expected to give birth next week. "I think China is taking this very seriously because of their experience with SARS. Even watching TV with my wife and her parents, I can feel the Chinese are really seriously scared about this thing. "I also heard (that China is) trying to produce a vaccine, and that they have been fairly successful in their efforts so far," added Cervinka, who works for the Czech government. In Beijing, 27-year-old market researcher Dan Smith, who caught flu last week, was asked to stay home and rest with full pay. The American has also cancelled his planned holiday to Mexico next month. "Although no one at work thought my flu was H1N1, no chance will be taken, according to my Chinese boss," said Smith from his home in Beijing. "I think people are over-sensitive, but it is understandable after the SARS experience in China." The Mexican Wave, a 20-year-old Mexican restaurant that draws scores of foreign diners each day in Beijing, said the place continues to be full, except the management has taken off the only pork dish from its menu. "It's better to remove anything that might trigger discomfort for diners," said manager Liu Quanhai, who experienced SARS in 2003. A Mexican student studying at the Beijing Language and Culture University also said he did not see his classmates and Chinese friends being worried about his nationality. Steve Chan, who works for the Guangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee in the Guangdong capital, said he was more concerned about the transparency of local governments than a major spread of the pandemic in China. "The measures taken by the central government are understandable in most respects," he said. "But there are two things which stand out as being too harsh: The forced quarantine of Mexican visitors and the lack of clear guidelines on how they decide which travelers are to be treated as a potential health threat." Harley Seyedin, the Guangzhou-based president of the American Chamber of Commerce in South China, said he felt comfortable and secure with government efforts to protect foreigners. "You cannot be too careful," he said, adding his chamber recently sent out a notice to its members on how to deal with the situation. In Hong Kong, foreigners appeared calm. Claire Fawcett, a 25-year-old Briton, said she is not worried about the flu spreading in Hong Kong. "As far as I know, only two taxi drivers have come in contact with the infected Mexican. I don't think it's a huge concern here yet." She does not plan on avoiding crowded places and says she'll continue life as usual. Margaret Zaidan who has been living in the city for three years, said she felt relaxed. "Hong Kong experienced SARS and it has what it takes to handle the situation," she said. The Whitehead family in Shanghai expects life to get back to normal soon, after the seven-day period, during which those infected should exhibit symptoms, passes. For the wife, the waiting game is clearly taking its toll. "Twenty people come to take my temperature twice a day. It's a little too much," she said. "At least now they are dressed normally. At first they came completely like astronauts in baggy white overalls and head bonnets." Qiu Quanlin, Li Wenfang in Guangzhou, and Peggy Chan, Teddy Ng in HK contributed to the story (China Daily 05/06/2009 page1) |
