Save Our
Sydney Suburbs (NSW) Inc.
News
Release late April 2003
SARS and Centenary Medals
SARS spreads through apartment blocks - Amoy Gardens
Our Parliamentary Representatives
should always be looking ahead and planning for the long term. They should not
merely be reacting to short-term occurrences. They should be planning properly
to reduce long-term risks and not wait for catastrophes to happen.
The Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic is becoming a source of world-wide
concern. More and more cases of this new viral pneumonia-like disease are being
reported - the number of cases to date is 4439 and the death toll 263.
It is noticeable that the reportedly worst affected regions are those of high
population densities - China, Hong Kong and Singapore (5000 people per sq km).
It is also noticeable how quickly the disease can spread in a unit block. This,
as we are well aware, is the type of living that the Department of Planning is steadily forcing
onto Sydney communities.
The Hong Kong Department of Health has produced a report which can be found
on the Sydney Morning Herald website on the outbreak of SARS that occurred among
residents of Amoy Gardens, Kowloon Bay. The report states that the first case
of the outbreak was a 33-year-old man who lived in Shenzhen. He developed SARS
symptoms on 14 March 2003 when he visited his brother who owned a flat in Amoy
Gardens. He was having diarrhoea at that time and he used the toilet. In just
a month from then there were a total of 321 SARS cases in Amoy Gardens.
The Department of Health report reveals that each bathroom in the Amoy Gardens
units is fitted with a U-shaped water trap which to function properly must be
sufficiently filled with water. But if the tenant had the habit of mopping up
the floor while cleaning instead of flooding the area with sufficient water
to allow some water to drain away through the floor trap, the trap could become
dry.
A dry U-trap allowed infected droplets from the drainage system to enter through
the floor drain when the bathroom exhaust fan was being used. Contaminated droplets
could then have deposited the SARS virus on various surfaces, such as floor
mats, towels, toiletries and other bathroom equipment. The bathrooms in apartment
units of Amoy Gardens were generally small in size (about 3.5 square metres)
which increased the chance of exposure.
The report indicates that
the rapid spread of the virus through Amoy Gardens was through the sewage system
and then through person-to-person contact and the use of shared communal facilities
such as lifts and staircases.
Of course we cannot all live in single-residential houses, in which situation
the chance of such disease spread is reduced. People should be free to assess
the pros and cons and choose the lifestyle of their choice. But there is no
reason for the Department of Planning to coerce communities into high-density if the residents
generally do not wish this type of development in their neighbourhood. It is
reasonable to assume that the risk to the whole community is increased as more
pockets of high-density are introduced.
High densities also increase the risk from other types of catastrophes such
as terrorist attacks or natural disasters. Our government should be planning
to decrease risk and not be increasing the chance of such possibilities.
With increasing densities in world communities an outbreak like SARS has been
waiting to happen. There will undoubtedly be more calamities if the trend continues.
Centenary Medals
On a much more cheerful note, SOS committee members Jean Posen, Kathy Cowley
and Keith Daniels were awarded Centenary Medals on Anzac Day. Congratulations!
Tony Recsei
President
Save Our Suburbs (SOS)