Relief and anger as tests clear SARS suspect
The Chinese woman had stayed in the Marina House Hostel in Dun Laoghaire over the weekend prompting fears among locals that they may have been infected after coming in contact with her.
Locals were relieved to hear that their concerns were unfounded yesterday evening, but were still angry at the lack of communication from officials in the Department of Justice. People living and working near the Dun Laoghaire hostel criticised the health authorities over their failure to provide any advice on the potential threat posed by the disease.
Several people in Dun Laoghaire complained yesterday afternoon, prior to learning that the woman did not have SARS, that they had received no information on whether they should take any precaution on the basis that, over the weekend, they might have come in contact with her.
Yesterday morning, many passers-by were still unaware that the Marina House Hostel was centrally involved in the country's biggest health scare in years.Even though medical sources rightly as it transpired played down the likelihood that the patient would be diagnosed with SARS, locals were still unhappy, feeling they had been put at risk.
A decision to close the hostel, which is located in the old part of Dun Laoghaire, for 10 days was taken yesterday, even though there were reports that it was still open for business for several hours in the early morning.
"We would have a lot of visitors from the Marina in here, but we've been told absolutely nothing. We've only heard things anecdotally. It's only natural that we'd be concerned," said garage employee Peter Lambe.
He works in a nearby Esso petrol station whose forecourt shop is popular with hostel guests stocking up on provisions.
"To be honest it's scares the crap out of me," said Mr Lambe. "We don't know what to say to people if they ask about what's happening." He criticised the decision of the health authorities to allow the woman to be discharged from hospital over the weekend.
Another businessman who owns a premises near the Marina expressed concern about the lack of information, but was not outwardly perturbed about any health risk: "It was probably the lesser of two evils to let her back to the hostel, as patients at the hospital could also have been exposed."
Most locals were unaware of the new owners of the hostel as it was sold within the past six months. The manager of a popular local watering hole, The Purty Kitchen refused to comment on the situation. The pub and restaurant were operating as normal yesterday, even though it is located only yards away from the Marina and is frequented by residents of the hostel, especially Australian tourists.
The hostel, which offers budget accommodation for around 40 guests, is a favourite haunt with backpackers due to its close proximity to Dun Laoghaire's port area which has ferry connections with Holyhead.
The normally bustling Marina House Hostel located on the coast road just outside Dun Laoghaire, however, had its doors firmly locked to all kinds of visitors by midday yesterday. Inside, 27 residents including several foreign tourists and a member of staff were settling down to a period of "voluntary quarantine" during which time they will be monitored to see if they show any symptoms of the potentially fatal disease.
The Marina is managed by New Zealander Phil Taylor who was not available for comment. A sign on the locked wooden door directed all media queries to the Eastern Regional Health Authority.
A number of public health doctors who had been on strike are understood to have visited the hostel yesterday to provide a check up on its remaining residents.
