[per loin]

So if we had an outbreak at a hospital in the US, no one could report it to the general public?

[riri]

That was basically what I asked him. I asked him if our healthcare workers started becoming infected, would we be made aware? I told him on my street alone my daughter played with two children who had close relatives who worked in local hospitals (I do) and I felt I had the right to know, etc.

He really skirted the issue. He gave me alot of "this isn't a highly contagious virus and no one in the community is at risk at the present", that type of thing.

But, he did say that they were not going to disclose who, what and where of SARS victims to respect the privacy of the patients. But as far as the issue of HCW's he never actually answered, he seemed to act as though I was speculating about a scenario that would never play out.

[Timesink]

So if we had an outbreak at a hospital in the US, no one could report it to the general public?

It doesn't matter whether they "can" or not. If it happens, word will get out. Doctors and nurses talk. Within 24 hours, people would be canceling elective surgeries, refusing to go there to visit sick friends, demanding to be taken to other hospitals in emergencies, the local TV stations would start calling ... the hospital would be FORCED to set the record straight one way or the other.