In Reply to: Blood tests for Bali Overseas Arrivals posted by Putu_Les on Saturday, 27. June 2009 at 13:17 Bali Time:
Bali Airport Declares War on H1N1 Virus
Bali Airport Authorities and Tourism Officials Introduce Steps to Control the Spread of "Swine Flu" Virus in Bali.
(6/27/2009) Now that Bali has its first confirmed cases of the H1N1 Virus with the confirmation of that illness in the English-born Australian Bobbie Masoner (22) and 12 year-old George Coltman, the island has tightened controls and measures in the hope of curbing a further spread of the disease.
Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport
Angkasa Pura I (PAR I) , the management authority for Bali's airport, has responded to the confirmed case of H1N1 by declaring an all out effort to prevent more undetected cases from entering Bali.
Working together with the Airport Health Office, PAP I will single out planes from countries confirmed to be infected with the H1N1 Virus for special treatment. Upon landing at Bali's airport the subject planes will be sequestered briefly at Bravo 18 - a remote aircraft parking area of the airport where the plane and its passengers will be sprayed with disinfectant. Passengers will then be disembarked and subjected to thermal scanners to determine if any are suffering from an elevated body temperature which, if discovered, would earn a more thorough medical examination by the airport's H1N1 containment team.
Separately, the Chairman of the Bali Tourism Board (BTB), IB Ngurah Wijaya, saluted the open attitude of the government in dealing with the worldwide pandemic represented by H1N1. Explained Wijaya, as quoted in the Bali Post: "Indeed, there's no need to cover this up. What matters is that we explain is that we tell the public how we are handling the illness, as we did before with Bird Flu."
Wijaya also called on members of the travel and hotel industry to take a more proactive role in fighting the H1N1 virus by bringing guests to Denpasar's Sanglah General Hospital whenever symptoms are detected.
Guidelines from Bali Tourism Authority
On June 24, 2009, the Bali Tourism Authority (Diparda) issued a circular memo addressed to all tourism stakeholder suggesting:
• To heighten coordination between clinic operating from hotels and local Health Centers.
• To prepare face masks for Bali visitors.
• Prepare stocks of Tamiflu to treat cases of the H1N1 Virus.
• Guests suspected of being infected with the H1N1 virus should be isolated and reported to the Bali Health Office by calling Dr. Suteja at telephone ++62(0)818550650, Dr. Subrata at telephone ++62(0)0811397568 or the Health Command Post at ++62-(0)361-222412.
Tamiflu supplies are on stand-by at local community health centers and the Sanglah General Hospital.
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