INFLUENZA ON THE NIAGARA

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 165, 7 April 1919, Page 8

INFLUENZA ON THE NIAGARA

THIRTY-NINE CASES TO DATE

PASSENGERS BEING LANDED

By Telegraph-Press Association. Auckland, April G. The influenza outbreak on the Niogam has been rapidly increasins, and nine inore cases wore landed yesterday, luday four more were taken ashore, mak-ing-thirty-nine coses i" a"- Major Pcttit states that the condition cf the. patients is satisfactory. It is understood that the passengers aru being Innded irom the Niagara this afternoon. Ihey will lie quartered at the ciuarantine station.

Watorsiders , Attitude,

* Aucklann, April 5. The watersidors at a meeting passed a resolution not to work the Niagara mitil seven days after the last case of nfluenu is reported, and to ask the nuthorities not to berth the vessol earhei.

ANXIETY IN AUCKLAND

DEPUTATION TO SIR JAMBS ALLEN

Auckland, April 6. A. deputation representing f ! W»° trade unions waited on the Ac t>,g-Hmo Minister (Sir James Allen), urg ngtimi stricter quarantine preeautio w bliouUl on i "titutel, and also that adequate monel.oi.ld bo wade ot Motmhi, o some other is'tand, for healthy nas.en gore on vessels in quarantine. Mv Jl J Savage explained to the.Minister " that the demotion represented thirty-™trade unions of Auckland and Labour generally. They had been given to unueßtnnd that the Niagara woald berth on Sunday night alter «onig through the quarantine period ot 60 hours. Experience in Australia had Sn that sixty hours' qiuirontine was insufficient. They asked therefore that the period be extended to seven.da>6 at tost They were also of opinion that he passengers on the ship should be cohered, and for that reason hey urged that proper accommodation should be m »de on Motuihi or Homo other island , for healthy passengers on ,lhc \essw in JmmSine. In their opinion it « not rW to keep passengers .crowded tocher on a U while she was in quarantine Every precaution should be token to safeguard the whole eoinn.un.ty and the passengers. It was no good jndemmfyii» the waterside workers for an" in ection they illicit incur in workin? the vessel while th? whole coimn.inity was laid open to the danger ot infeSirJamo S A lion expressed his entire BVinpathy with the anxiety of ~he. deputation and the people. «f Auck and .to avoid nnythins tlwt mi ? ht end to a iecurrence of .the epidennc. He conld aseure them that whatever the Minister of Public Health and his oftcers of the Department could do to relieve public anxiety would be done. He had not had direct'communication with the Minister about the period of t|uarantine, but he understood that sixty hours whs only a tentative arrangement, and if it were found to be inadequate he was sure it would bo extended, even to the length of «oven days if necessary. They must understand llmt sixty iHvurs , quarantine was not to be taken as final. So far as the accommodation was concerned, lie. was bound lo admit tlwt the'buildnißS I on the quarantine island could -not posI aibly accommodate a thousand passengers or tiwps, but he questioned whetlier ! it was necessary to erect permanent ncl commodation for so large a number. I'lii> building accommodation could always ue pupplemented by canvas, and in Ins opinion canvas was healthier and beher to live under than some of tlie builmnpfs that people lived in. A member of the deputation expressed the opinion that the Niagara ought to be thoroughly well fumigate.-], as it seemed to him' that s=he was nothing but a iloatiiiK incubalor" .at the present time. .Sir .Tames Allen: 1 don't presume the Niagara is an incubalor. She is. bringin" in disease from quite a different Koiirce this time. No matter what regulations are enforced and what precautions are taken it does not eeem to keep this disease out. However, I am not savins that we should not take every possible stop to provide against it, and I will add my own representations to yours in communicating with the Minister of Public Health on tlie subject.

PASSENGERS'ON HOTUIHI STATKMBNT B\ r - THE MINUTER. The Hon. G. \V. liussell slated last uujht that nine more cases Laving occurred on the Niagara, making 11 total oj thirty, tho whole of tho New Zealand passengers on the vessel had been taken off the ship yesterday, and were now in quarantine on Jiotmhi Island. Instructions had also been given that all the Australian passengers on board were to bo removed to the island. The Defence Department, under Colonel l'olter, had made adequate provision in the way of tents and all necessary equipment for the accommodation of passengers on the island In addition to the passengers, as many of the crew as could be spared froni the ship would also be taken ashore, in order that the segregation of the infected passengers might p> on without allecting the position of the ship, tho object of tho Government being to allow tho Niagara to proceed on her voyago as rapidly as possible. All the methods adopted in regard to thu qnara--1 tine were directed, to this end. "I uni derstand," said llr. Kussell, "that'two ; mild cases have shown themselves to-day, i i;ut there are no serious developments, -° iSir "its I am informed, up to the preI sent." i The Minister added that (ho fact that j on this occasion, as on the previous occasion, in October, the disease is'cniilincd almost exclusively to the quarters occupied by the crew, indicates that this is tho "danger post" of the shin. The health officers had, therefore, been instructed that a very careful inquiry is to be made as to the accommodation provided for the crew; and, if necessary, the assistance of tho Marino Department is to bo sought, in order that a definite decision on scientific grounds may be obtained as to whether the accommodation provided is adequate in view of tho facl that epidemics aro in tho nir. Tho Minister has communicated by telephone with tho Mayor of Auckland, Colonel Potter, O.C. mid Mr. Irvine manager of the U.S.S. Company, Auck land. Everything possible is being done to Kiiiird t.he City of Auckland ngainsl infection, and to bring about the recov cry to health of the infected passenger: in order that the ship muji be got awaj as early as possible. Mr. Russell received a rammuninntioi fYom the secretary to the Aucklam I Waterside Worker*' Union to the' cifec that they refused to work the ship mi less I hey were satisfied that slio wa: clean, anj a reply was sent that tin ship was now lti ijunrantino for an in definite period, and that she would no be allowed o'tlier to berth or to star on tier voyage until the medical ofiicer of the Public Health Department wer satisfied tuat one was an absolutely cloa: , ship. "Later," the Minister said, "I am ii: formed that ■Uβ nassengers were landc . on Ihc island to-dav from the ship. C i these 70 fir? installed in buildings an tho remainder in kills. There hav also been put on shor, 15 members of tli crew, lno&ily stewards.