TROOPSHIP QUARANTINED.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17502, 19 December 1918, Page 5

TROOPSHIP QUARANTINED.

ARRIVAL AT WELLINGTON

INFECTIOUS DISEASE ON

BOARD

ABOUT A DOZEN MEN SUFFERING.

A telegram from Base- Records states that when the troopship with returning Draft No. 200 arrived in Wellington Harbour yesterday afternoon it flew the yellow flag, indicating tho presence on board of infectious disease.

Thero arc nearly. SOO men aboard from various hospitals in England, also a few who returned on duty furlough.' Tho Baso Records Staff went out to the ship to "carry out the demobilisation process, but owing to the fact that about a dozen of the soldiers were suffering from infectious disease, including cases of influenza, mumps, and one of malaria, tho ship was placed in quarantine by tho Public Health Department. The Defence officials kept in touch with tho health officers so as to tako_ up their work of discharging non-infected men as soon as possible, and it was arranged that if the patients could be isolated and the contacts dealt with the Base Records Staff would go out in tho evening and work all night to enable the men for distant paa-ts to catch the morning trains. This could not be done, but as there was a possibility of tho quarantine being lifted this morning it was decided to liave a staff ready for work on the ship at 7 a-m. Probably this would permit of tho vessel being berthed during this afternoon. This delay was quite unexpected, as a few days ago a wireless message from the ship stated that there wero no infectious diseases aboard.