| Caroline, Hmmm...and you still let your kid goes to school? I am just kidding, okay. :) I have a friend in Hong Kong with a young daughter who goes to a local kindergarten. As the crisis escalated at the end of March, the kid continued to go to school, as usual. On the day before the official announcement to close all HK schools for two weeks (four weeks now, and extended indefinitely for younger kids as of yet) the mother went to pick up her daughter and realised the little girl was the only child in her kindergarten class still attending school. :-0 Since then, I have chided them for being 'irresponsible' parents. May be all the other parents were just paranoid. May be they know something that you and I don't. ;-) Vivian, My opinion is that you (and 99% of overseas visitors) will not catch SARS by coming to visit SH, or returning to SH in your case. In most affected areas around the world, the chance of catching SARS outside the hospital is very slim. (The situation in Beijing - with the RR stations being jam-packed, is another story.) That said, quite a number of foreign countries have asked their citizens to consider deferring non-essential travel to China because of SARS concerns. WHO's findings is irrelevant to you as an overseas visitor. More importantly, the US and a number of countries have issued travel warning on the whole of China. On April 3, the US began the evacuation ('voluntary departure of non-emergency personnel', is the polite term) of the U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai. http://travel.state.gov/china_warning.html If you happen to be among unfortunate few to contract SARS during your visit to China -- or indeed to have SARS-related symptoms (fever, coughing, malaise muscle aches, etc)-- you will be sent to a designated hospital until the contagious phase has passed. It is likely that you will not be allowed to receive visitors, including your family member or you own doctor. Assuming it is not SARS, I would hate to be in an isolated ward in a hospital for the time it takes to determine that I am NOT a SARS patient. You will not be allowed to board a flight if you display SARS-related symptoms. (Have you seen the recent case with the 6-year old HK girl who developed a fever while visiting Taiwan? Her tour group of 30+ people were all quarantined in their hotel rooms until the HK government sent a plane for them.) Frankly, what is the chance that YOU will develop a cough or catch the flu when you are visiting China -- you decide. Ten of millions of people live in Shanghai, but this is their home, and they have developed immunity to local strains of colds and flus - though not SARS, obviously. If you have been away for more than two years, you cannot compare your situation to the 'real' locals. You should carefully evaluate the risks before deciding to take the trip. Best regards. |
WHO Reports Shanghai Findings