---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Rush, Debbie R. <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Mon, May 11, 2009 at 4:05 PM
Subject: [Scmsit] URGENT MESSAGE Regarding the 2009 Tokyo Conference!
Dear Colleagues,
I am writing to you with news about our upcoming Tokyo conference that
requires your immediate attention. Please forward this announcement to
anyone you know who is planning to attend the Tokyo conference.
With the advent of the H1N1 virus (“swine flu”), the Japanese government has
issued a travel advisory and is aggressively monitoring the situation. Among
the actions being taken are quarantines of anyone who appears to have
symptoms of the flu. If a case were to emerge on your flight or among our
membership at the conference, anyone who came into contact with an infected
person may be quarantined. Quarantine can last up to ten days and you may be
required to pay for medical attention if you show signs of being ill.
Additional airline change fees may also apply if you were to become ill. On
Saturday, three cases of the H1N1 flu were confirmed in Japan.
Both the National Government and the Chiyoda District Government, where the
Josai University-Kioichô Campus is located, have asked Josai to cancel the
conference. The Josai University administration has resisted this request
and has kindly negotiated conditions under which the conference can take
place. *These include the following*:
*1) To monitor the situation and inform conference participants of any
outbreak, the government requires information regarding each participant’s
whereabouts, including hotel location and contact numbers during the
conference and for ten days afterward.
2) Conference participants will have their temperatures taken when they
enter the conference each day. Those registering a temperature above 100.4
degrees Fahrenheit will be given an additional test to rule out the H1N1
virus. If the test is positive, there is a chance that conference
participants, along with the infected individual, could be quarantined.*
*
3) Participants will need to fill out a health declaration form each day of
the conference. The declaration will ask about symptoms (including fever,
nausea, dizziness, etc.) experienced during the past twenty-four hours.
4) Participants will be required to wear surgical masks during the
conference.*
* *
*5) If the World Health Organization raises the alert level to phase 6
(either before or during the conference), or if a conference participant is
found to have the H1N1 virus, then we will be required to cancel the
conference. This could happen anytime up to and including the conference
dates. Any potential financial costs resulting from quarantine and
associated delays are the responsibility of the traveler; the Society is not
responsible for these costs, and members traveling agree to incur them. *
Although the US Centers for Disease Control and various other health
officials have determined that the H1N1 virus is much milder than was
originally anticipated, we nevertheless need to alert you to the situation
in Japan. We feel it is our responsibility to inform you to prepare for long
airport delays and inconveniences, daily health screenings, and paperwork
that travelers to Japan are currently experiencing. The cases of swine flu
currently in Japan were brought in via air travel. All nonstop flights from
the US and Canada will be boarded by health workers in bio-hazard suits and
passengers on such flights will be monitored while on the plane for fever
and other flu signs.
*We ask that you let us know whether, under these conditions, you intend to
attend the conference or not. *Your response will enable us to determine
whether or not the conference should take place. SCMS is unable to postpone
or reschedule this event. Please let us know of your plans immediately and *no
later than 5:00 CST tomorrow, May 12, 2009 *by clicking on the following
link and responding to our survey
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Y5nh04W0KpjyzJ8mmEkkqQ_3d_3d.
If you decide to cancel your trip and inform us by 5:00pm CST tomorrow, SCMS
will reimburse your registration fees. Those who choose not to attend the
conference may wish to investigate their airline’s particular cancellation
and postponement terms and conditions. Many airlines charge a change fee but
will allow travelers to change the terms of their tickets for up to a year.
If you decide to attend the conference, you must provide us with your
contact information in Tokyo (and for ten days after the conference), and
you must agree to the terms which Josai University has arranged with the
Health Ministries, outlined above.
We ask for your understanding of these difficult circumstances, which are
beyond the Society’s control.
Sincerely,
Patrice Petro
SCMS President
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