By Sofia Kannas
THE HEALTH Ministry is considering screening Chinese students coming over to Cyprus in an attempt to limit any potential outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) on the island, Medical Services Head, Constantinos Mallis said yesterday.
The news comes a day after the World Health Organisation (WHO) added Beijing, Toronto and China’s Shanxi province to the list of places it is advising travellers to avoid.
Speaking to the Cyprus Mail after a meeting with representatives of the Cyprus Medical Association (CMA) yesterday afternoon, Mallis said adequate measures had been taken to prepare the island for an outbreak of the atypical pneumonia.
“We have taken the proper measures and the (CMA) agree with the measures that we have taken. We will remain in close cooperation with the CMA if further measures need to be taken.”
He confirmed that moves to screen Chinese students arriving on the island would be put into effect should the need arise.
“We are thinking about specific measures to screen Chinese people coming to Cyprus, but we have not introduced these yet. We will see how things develop.”
Mallis said passengers leaving affected regions were given health checks and had to fill in questionnaires on their state of health. Another precaution the government had taken was to remind airlines to issue general health declarations before landing, which was common practice in light of infectious disease outbreaks. Aircraft staff flying to Cyprus had also been told to check passengers for symptoms so that the captain could alert the airport. If someone displayed SARS symptoms onboard the flight, the pilot would inform the landing airport, so that the passenger could be taken to either Paphos or Larnaca airport’s clinic for a check up.
A special facility had already been set up at Limassol hospital where any people showing symptoms of the virus would be taken, he said. Mallis added if the person did not need to go to hospital, he or she would be confined to their homes under medical supervision.
He also denied reports in Machi yesterday which claimed a Larnaca hospital was treating a 28-year-old British man who displayed symptoms of SARS.
“It wasn’t true — it was just typical pneumonia. They wrote it in the newspaper without cross-checking and caused a panic,” he said.
