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MORAKOT: THE AFTERMATH: Hospitals urged to treat disaster victims on credit

A photo released by the Taiwan Military News Agency shows soldiers evacuating survivors in Tainan County yesterday following floods caused by Typhoon Morakot. PHOTO: AFP

Minister of the Interior Liao Liou-yi (廖了以) yesterday urged hospitals to treat Typhoon Morakot victims even if they could not produce their National Health Insurance cards. Liao made the call after visiting Cishan Township (旗山), Kaohsiung County, where several flood and mudslide victims complained that hospital authorities had refused to treat them if they didn’t have health insurance cards and pay for registration.

Several victims said they did not have enough time to grab their insurance cards or money before being evacuated in the wake of the flooding and devastation brought by Morakot.

Liao ordered that the disaster victims be given medical attention on credit and their medical bills erased once local government offices issue documents certifying they were victims of the typhoon.

Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said flood victims will be prescribed Tamiflu to fight the A(H1N1) influenza virus immediately, instead of waiting for them to test positive for the disease.

“The policy begins now and will be good through Aug. 14,” CDC Director-General Steve Kuo (郭旭崧) said during a press conference at the Department of Health. “If a victim is diagnosed with the flu, drugs and help will be prescribed immediately.”

He said that the policy would help avoid a potential epidemic.

Kuo said a total of 156 hospitals in Taichung, Changhua, Nantou, Yunlin, Chiayi, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties and Taichung, Chiayi, Tainan and Kaohsiung cities would implement the measures.

He said that the policy will be reviewed on Saturday after Tamiflu becomes covered by the National Health Insurance.

In related news, the Environmental Protection Administration urged people to begin cleaning flood-damaged homes as soon as the flooding is under control to help prevent epidemics, especially outbreaks of dengue fever.

“We have received reports of 11 cases of dengue fever so far in the greater Kaohsiung area, 10 of which were reported after the World Games … We have concerns that the situation may become difficult to contain and erupt into an epidemic,” said Yuan Shaw-ying (袁紹英), director-general of the Department of Environmental Sanitation and Toxic Substance Management.

A three-step cleanup procedure should be used, Yuan said: Disperse any standing water, assess water-damaged furniture and disinfect the environment. Disinfecting a wet floor is ineffective, Yuan said.

To prevent pollution of rivers, people who use diluted bleach for cleaning are advised to use up all the bleach solution, preferably by cleaning up outdoor surfaces or walls, instead of flushing it down the toilet.
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