Here are a couple I found
recombinomics.com
daily-news.ro
Bird flu quarantine causes panic, people move from isolated areas
Andreea Pocotila
The over 300 people placed into quarantine in the capital's Sector 2 yesterday protested against the measures taken by authorities, as they fear confinement will endanger their jobs.
The confirmation of bird flu in Bucharest forced authorities to place three streets in the Andronache Bucharest neighborhood under quarantine, isolating over 300 people who will not be allowed to leave the perimeter for the few next seven days.
People found it hard to believe the authorities' decision and some of them did take the measure seriously at the beginning. However, when they saw fences emerging in their yards and people with masks in their homes they realized the authorities were not kidding. The locals started protesting against the quarantine and said it hindered their activities, as they could not go to work or to school.
Many of them accused authorities of placing their homes under quarantine without warning them and they were scared to see tall fences being built on their street all of a sudden with gendarmes in their homes. In addition, they were discontent that they did not have time to make food and water supplies.
People in the quarantine will be paid if they do not go to work, yesterday announced a release from the Labor Minister. If employers refuse to respect this decision, they can be sued. However, this measure is only valid for employees who have a labor contract.
The access in the area under quarantine was strictly forbidden and several hundred birds were sacrificed by yesterday afternoon, while special teams wearing white protective suites and masks started to disinfect the area. In the meantime, locals were vaccinated and authorities urged people to respect the hygienic measures and not to touch dead birds.
Sector 2 Mayor Nicolai Ontanu yesterday asked for the retesting of a bird found infected with the H5 virus, as he was worried about the situation of the people in the quarantined area of the sector.
"Since the heightened alert state was enforced in the area a few days ago, and then the quarantine on Sunday, we did not find any dead or sick bird. Maybe the bird that was tested did not come from the area," he said, alleging the sanitary-veterinary authority might have replaced the samples by mistake.
However, the head of the authority, Gabriel Predoi, said there is no way that the samples could have been mixed. "We have documents for all of them," he said.
Ontanu, however, insisted on a re-assessment. "What would it cost as? Would it be better to keep the people confined in the area? They are worried about losing their jobs," he said. He said City Hall was providing basic foods for the people in the area.
Meanwhile, people in Sector 4 were still waiting yesterday, about 18 hours since suspicions appeared, for the results of the test meant to either confirm or dismiss the presence of the H5 virus in the area.
Local Mayor Adrian Inimaroiu told Realitatea TV yesterday that he is still waiting for the proceedings to be finished. He added that the situation in the area where dead birds were found is already tense. "People are losing their patience," he said.
Inimaroiu said people's reaction is normal, as their day to day lives were affected by the discovery of a bird flu outbreak.
"People had normal emotional reaction. Last night (Sunday night) I stayed until 2 a.m. talking with them. They understood when I told them that the measures we take are for their own good," Inimaroiu said.
Although the results of the lab tests were not known yesterday in the afternoon, people still started panicking after gendarmes teams announced that once the quarantine is introduced, no one will be allowed to leave the perimeter for a whole week. People were told that they could leave the area in no more than an hour if quarantine is introduced.
If this happens, over 13,000 inhabitants in Sector 4 will not be allowed to leave the outbreak's perimeter.
Two more dead hens were found in Sector 4 yesterday and doctors took samples from them. Moreover, a dead starling was found by two children on the side of a street in the same sector. Authorities were notified and tests were made.
Bird flu seems to be spreading at a national level, also, as six more outbreaks were discovered yesterday, out of which three in Brasov County, two in Valcea and one in Neamt.
Agriculture Minister Gheorghe Flutur said yesterday during a press conference that the total number of bird flu outbreaks at a national level is of 34.
The official pointed out that the measures initiated in Sector 2 will be finalized tomorrow. However, he said that the procedure will be more difficult in Sector 4. About 7,000 people live in the Sector 4 area with suspicions of bird flu. If the suspicions are confirmed, more than 2,300 birds will have to be euthanized.
"I am responsible and I am handling this crisis together with my team," Flutur said.
The minister said that in 21 of the 34 outbreaks the disinfection and euthanisea measures for birds were finalized.
Flutur said the test results carried out at Weybridge in London were positive and confirmed the virus' presence in Brasov. However, Flutur said all suspicions of bird flu in humans turned out to be negative.
The minister was the subject of accusations from parts of the media and representatives of the Social Democratic Party said authorities were inefficient. However, the head of the European Commission's Delegation in Romania, Jonathan Scheele, yesterday said he appreciates the way authorities are administrating to the crisis caused by new bird flu outbreaks.
Early this month bird flu struck again in Romania after a break since the end of April. Romania reported its first cases of H5N1 in domestic fowl in October in its eastern Danube Delta region, which is crossed by hundreds of thousands of migratory birds. No human cases have been reported in the country, but several hundred thousands of birds were killed, causing damages of billions of lei.
Romania has had 53 confirmed bird flu outbreaks in nine counties before this month's cases. The most affected county was Constanta, where 15 outbreaks were found, leading to the decrease of tourism in the area.
Bird flu forced the authorities to sacrifice 420,000 birds all over the country by May, in more than 16,000 households. The total value of the expenses, including disinfection and lab tests, reaches about 11 million new lei (over three million euros). |
