QUARANTINE AND PREVENTION OF DISEASE (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

10.51 a.m.

The Minister for Health (Mr A. J. Braga): Mr Speaker, Sir, I have His Excellency the Governor's permission to proceed with this Bill and I move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

The amendments to the Quarantine and Prevention of Disease Ordinance are explained in the explanatory note and I do not propose to deal at length with this. I will however observe that the amendments do not bring in any radical change to the Ordinance and are largely in the nature of extending the provisions of the Ordinance to a more effective control of tuberculosis. Hon. Members are aware that in the Ministry, there now exists a Tuberculosis Control Unit under the direction of the Assistant Director of Medical Services (Tuberculosis) and the main functions of the unit are first to create and maintain a confidential central case register of all persons as far as is known affected by the disease and next to organise and carry out a systematic case-finding programme and to arrange for the treatment of those needing it. The Bill gives power to the A.D.M.S. (TB) in respect of tuberculosis only in the same manner as the Ordinance does to the Health Officer in respect of other infectious diseases. It lays down the procedure by which medical practitioners are required to notify cases of tuberculosis and Schedule Al attached to the Bill describes the manner in which such notification should be submitted.

Clause 4 empowers the Minister to vary and remit fees and to vary the Schedules to the Ordinance.

The systematic case-finding programme which is now being carried out in certain specified areas commenced on 1st July under the direction of a team of Australian experts provided under the Australian Colombo Plan.

I would like to state that the response by the public has been more than heartening and I am glad to report to this House that if the degree of response now being experienced continues, the success of the initial programme is more than assured. From the information collected by this project, we should be able to take effective measures to prevent and control the disease and possibly in time eradicate it.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole Assembly.

Assembly immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. [Mr A. J. Braga].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read the Third time and passed.