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http://tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,203726,00.html?
THE BUZZ
Exchange
Why flame Patient Zero? What else could she do?
By Tan Mae Lynn
June 01, 2009
RESPONSIBLE: The SMU student saw a doctor at this clinic soon after she developed flu symptoms. --TNP PICTURE: CHOO CHWEE HUA
SINGAPOREANS think with their hearts.
And in times of crisis, Singaporeans do what we do best - complain and blame.
An instinctive reaction if you tend to be ruled by the heart.
That explains why Patient Zero has been flamed by netizens.
The Singapore Management University (SMU) undergraduate returned from a school trip to the US and became the first Singaporean H1N1 flu victim, and the first to bring the virus here.
She's been called irresponsible, ignorant, a trouble-maker and some even said she should be sued.
Let's pause for a moment. Give the poor girl a break.
She wasn't ill before she boarded the plane. Her symptoms started only while she was on the flight home. What could she have done then?
Her actions since she returned have been responsible. Ditto with her quick-thinking boyfriend who sent her to the doctors that same morning and quarantined himself thereafter.
Together, they did everything right.
Many however, have blamed and flamed her and the university for making the trip in the first place.
She's a young adult. But she's a student after all. And like most students, she would take the school's lead.
If the university had deemed it safe enough to continue with the study trip, then most students would assume that the university had made an informed decision.
That the school gave students a choice shouldn't be seen as irresponsibility on the SMU student's part.
As for the university, it justified its decision to proceed on two grounds: the Ministry of Health (MOH) had lowered the alert level to yellow, and Queens (highly affected area) was not part of the study mission itinerary.
Unfortunately, and as pointed out by some netizens, the MOH alert system refers to Singapore.
The US remains listed as an affected area (where the flu is still spreading), though compulsory home quarantine is no longer required upon return.
The onus therefore, is for SMU to clarify on why the trip was essential, which they have done.
Oh and about Queens not being part of the itinerary, perhaps a geography lesson is timely.
Queens is part of New York City, where millions of people commute across boroughs daily. Queens also accounts for about a quarter of New York City's total population.
And I'm sure, no small number of the locals also work at JFK airport - in Queens - which the SMU students had used to fly in and out of New York.
Yes, indeed, life must still carry on and thankfully, H1N1 has not yet proven to be much more than the sniffles.
We cannot prevent people from travelling in and out of Singapore. But at least we can all act more like the SMU student - with responsibility - and exercise discretion and make better informed decisions.
Such vigilance is our best defence against mutants.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agree or disagree? We ask 50 Singaporeans
Q: Should Singapore's first H1N1 patient be blamed for bringing the flu virusinto Singapore?
'It was a matter of time before the virusarrived into cosmopolitan Singapore via a Singaporean or atourist.'
-- Mr Anup Kumar, 30, events manager
'I don't think she acted irresponsibly by continuing with her school trip to the US, as she went out of necessity. Also, she acted quickly and responsibly upon falling ill.'
-- Mr Hansel Chen, 23, student
No: 87%
'Maybe she should have got herself checked out before she came back.'
- Mr Tay Shi Hong, 26, engineer
YES: 13%
THE BUZZ
Exchange
Why flame Patient Zero? What else could she do?
By Tan Mae Lynn
June 01, 2009
RESPONSIBLE: The SMU student saw a doctor at this clinic soon after she developed flu symptoms. --TNP PICTURE: CHOO CHWEE HUA
SINGAPOREANS think with their hearts.
And in times of crisis, Singaporeans do what we do best - complain and blame.
An instinctive reaction if you tend to be ruled by the heart.
That explains why Patient Zero has been flamed by netizens.
The Singapore Management University (SMU) undergraduate returned from a school trip to the US and became the first Singaporean H1N1 flu victim, and the first to bring the virus here.
She's been called irresponsible, ignorant, a trouble-maker and some even said she should be sued.
Let's pause for a moment. Give the poor girl a break.
She wasn't ill before she boarded the plane. Her symptoms started only while she was on the flight home. What could she have done then?
Her actions since she returned have been responsible. Ditto with her quick-thinking boyfriend who sent her to the doctors that same morning and quarantined himself thereafter.
Together, they did everything right.
Many however, have blamed and flamed her and the university for making the trip in the first place.
She's a young adult. But she's a student after all. And like most students, she would take the school's lead.
If the university had deemed it safe enough to continue with the study trip, then most students would assume that the university had made an informed decision.
That the school gave students a choice shouldn't be seen as irresponsibility on the SMU student's part.
As for the university, it justified its decision to proceed on two grounds: the Ministry of Health (MOH) had lowered the alert level to yellow, and Queens (highly affected area) was not part of the study mission itinerary.
Unfortunately, and as pointed out by some netizens, the MOH alert system refers to Singapore.
The US remains listed as an affected area (where the flu is still spreading), though compulsory home quarantine is no longer required upon return.
The onus therefore, is for SMU to clarify on why the trip was essential, which they have done.
Oh and about Queens not being part of the itinerary, perhaps a geography lesson is timely.
Queens is part of New York City, where millions of people commute across boroughs daily. Queens also accounts for about a quarter of New York City's total population.
And I'm sure, no small number of the locals also work at JFK airport - in Queens - which the SMU students had used to fly in and out of New York.
Yes, indeed, life must still carry on and thankfully, H1N1 has not yet proven to be much more than the sniffles.
We cannot prevent people from travelling in and out of Singapore. But at least we can all act more like the SMU student - with responsibility - and exercise discretion and make better informed decisions.
Such vigilance is our best defence against mutants.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agree or disagree? We ask 50 Singaporeans
Q: Should Singapore's first H1N1 patient be blamed for bringing the flu virusinto Singapore?
'It was a matter of time before the virusarrived into cosmopolitan Singapore via a Singaporean or atourist.'
-- Mr Anup Kumar, 30, events manager
'I don't think she acted irresponsibly by continuing with her school trip to the US, as she went out of necessity. Also, she acted quickly and responsibly upon falling ill.'
-- Mr Hansel Chen, 23, student
No: 87%
'Maybe she should have got herself checked out before she came back.'
- Mr Tay Shi Hong, 26, engineer
YES: 13%
