My parents and I travelled to Toronto for a Bar Mitzvah at the height of the SARS epidemic. I vividly remember watching my parents in lively conversation at a banquette table at the luncheon with the grandparents of the Bar Mitzvah boy, both of whom were Staff Physicians at Scarborough General Hospital, the epicentre of the SARS outbreak in Toronto, and both of whom were also Holocaust survivors. I so remember thinking at that moment.... that besides the gestures of hand washing, Purell, duct tape, masks, staying in more, not shaking hands (or other condoms of air borne disease), are there really no measures in between living life as usual and a looming unknown apocalyptic abyss? Having recently survived full-blown AIDS, I had brushed up against the eye of the storm of an epidemic and knew full well that survival was primarily a matter of luck. When Sweden implemented a selective quarantine for HIV-positive individuals refusing medical supervision, I heard the outrage in my gay community and from opponents claiming the government was reviving the practice of exiling lepers and engaging in discriminatory practices, but I quietly wondered to myself... was this not a fair practice when balancing the rights individuals against what is best for the society? Are early quarantine measures not taken because they are deemed to be futile, because it is feared that they will instigate disorder and panic, or because they pose political risk? What is to be done in the face of the Ebola threat? I dont know the answers. But my personal experience is that governments act too late.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 13:53:32 +0000
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