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Source: http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=ODQ1MjI1NTU0
Travelers take tablets to evade quarantine
Published Date: June 20, 2009
By A Saleh, Staff Writer
KUWAIT: A curious lack of concern for public health has been encountered among some travelers returning to Kuwait from countries where the H1N1 virus, better known as swine flu, has been registered. This has been demonstrated in the form of airline passengers taking tablets before landing that keep their temperature down in order to avoid any higher temperature being registered by the thermal cameras in the airport arrivals section which could alert medical staff there to take them aside for further medical checks, possibly revealing the presence of the virus.
Some of the passengers admitted to doctors at the airport that they had taken the tablets in order to avoid the possibility of being quarantined if they were found to be carrying the virus.
A Ministry of Health (MOH) official emphasized that the virus is not very dangerous, meaning that the passengers have the right to take such medication without a doctor's prescription, emphasizing that Kuwait is capable of dealing with the virus and has taken all the necessary precautions and bought sufficient quantities of medicine to treat any mass outbreak of the disease.
The MOH official said that the ministry is ready to carry out studies on all suspected cases and to give patients the medicine to take at home without the need to spend time in hospital, based on the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommendations.
Travelers take tablets to evade quarantine
Published Date: June 20, 2009
By A Saleh, Staff Writer
KUWAIT: A curious lack of concern for public health has been encountered among some travelers returning to Kuwait from countries where the H1N1 virus, better known as swine flu, has been registered. This has been demonstrated in the form of airline passengers taking tablets before landing that keep their temperature down in order to avoid any higher temperature being registered by the thermal cameras in the airport arrivals section which could alert medical staff there to take them aside for further medical checks, possibly revealing the presence of the virus.
Some of the passengers admitted to doctors at the airport that they had taken the tablets in order to avoid the possibility of being quarantined if they were found to be carrying the virus.
A Ministry of Health (MOH) official emphasized that the virus is not very dangerous, meaning that the passengers have the right to take such medication without a doctor's prescription, emphasizing that Kuwait is capable of dealing with the virus and has taken all the necessary precautions and bought sufficient quantities of medicine to treat any mass outbreak of the disease.
The MOH official said that the ministry is ready to carry out studies on all suspected cases and to give patients the medicine to take at home without the need to spend time in hospital, based on the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommendations.