The compromise reached by the expert medical group advising the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, on the Special Olympics, and the potential threat posed by the SARS virus, is unfortunate and the decision remains open to the charge of discrimination.
Having originally advocated a total ban on the attendance by Special Olympics athletes from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and the Philippines, the group has now modified that recommendation in the face of critical public opinion and advice from the World Health Organisation (WHO). Only those regions within China and Canada where "local transmission" of the virus was not reported to the WHO will be allowed to send delegations. This will exclude contenders from Toronto, Beijing and Guangdong, along with athletes from Hong Kong and Taiwan. In all, an estimated 100 contestants will be affected. Mr Timothy Shriver, head of the global Special Olympics movement, finds the outcome "shocking" and makes the point that "this ban - incredibly to us - appears to be directed not at the general populations coming from SARS-affected areas, but only toward our Special Olympics delegations coming from those areas."
The decision will come as a terrible disappointment to people who have trained for the Special Olympics. Offers to provide advance quarantine facilities in China and elsewhere were rejected by the expert group on the grounds that the WHO would not be able to provide external validation for persons from SARS-affected areas. Delegations will have to confirm, in advance of travelling, that they have not been in a SARS-affected area or in contact with a known SARS case during the previous 10 days. In contrast, businessmen, students and tourists may come here from such affected areas without medical scanning or other precautions.
The fact that an outbreak of SARS could overwhelm our already over-stretched health services is believed to have dictated the ultra-cautious approach adopted by the expert advisory group. Public health doctors have been on strike for eight weeks. And voluntary hospitals are closing beds as the funding made available by the Department of Finance fails to meet their needs.
In spite of the Government's decision, preparations for the Special Olympics continue at a frantic pace as more than 170 Host Towns, North and South, prepare to welcome delegates from 160 countries and show them what an Irish céad míle fáilte really means. An estimated 7,000 athletes will be entertained for four days before they go on to compete in the Games. This will be the largest sporting event in the world this year and the first time it has been held outside the United States. About half-a-million spectators are expected to attend. It will be a time of joy and celebration and, inevitably, some heartache for disappointed athletes. Five years of intensive planning are coming to fruition and all those involved, from the full-time organisers to the 30,000 volunteers, have reasons to be proud.