AHHHHHH..... H1N1

After our local news networks shifted from 24/7 H1N1 coverage to 24/7 Michael Jackson coverage we stopped hearing so much about the disease in New Brunswick, at least. But H1N1 is a big deal in Taiwan, and with new cases popping up everyday the country is trying to prevent a massive outbreak.


When we arrived at the Taipei airport we had to go through a quarantine station which just sort of checked our temperature as we walked through a gate and all around the city you can tell that the government is trying to educate people about H1N1. The subway stations all have posters telling people to wash their hands, to stay home if you’re feeling sick… all that kind of stuff. There are hand sanitizing stations everywhere, though I’m glad I brought my own hand sanitizer from home because the stuff they provide here smells like strong bug spray and makes my hands itch. As well, everywhere you go people are wearing surgical masks. No, they aren’t all doctors, they’re just being responsible because they might have a cold themselves or someone in their family might.


We all know one of the best ways to catch a cold or flu is from our co-workers or classmates. Well, last week all of the summer students were sent home from Mel’s school because 10 of them had tested positive for H1N1! Supposedly it was fine for us to stay on campus, though… As a preventative measure, effective yesterday (Taiwan’s first day of school for the new year) all students are having their temperatures taken before they are allowed on school grounds. Any students with a temperature over 37 degrees must wear a face mask and if their temperature is over 37.5 degrees they will be quarantined. If more than 2 students from the same class show symptoms within 3 days of each other then classes will be cancelled. These policies will probably pretty effective in preventing cluster outbreaks, though nothing’s stopping the infected people from hitting the town, coughing on your KFC and passing it on.

So far none of us sacrificial foreigners have shown any signs of sickness, but we did kind of wonder what was going on when we headed back to the dorms on Sunday night only to find the foreign teachers’ offices roped off like this:


Hmmmm…

Update: On campus this afternoon we saw a teacher teaching at the front of the class with both a surgical mask and a headset microphone on! Wonder how the sound quality was there. And also, we went to a department store tonight and before we were allowed to enter we had to let a worker spray our dirty hands with antibacterial spray. At least I assume it was antibacterial spray....