S.A.R.S. is closing in

I've just watched a TV news report that says that Cruise Lines in Seattle are turning away any resident of Toronto, to be sure that SARS doesn't make it on board. I can understand the paranoia. Yesterday, I overheard a conversation in my office. The cleaning lady was talking to her husband - remarking on how lucky it was that she had been too busy to attend the funeral of one of the people in her parish. It turned out that a doctor who attended the funeral was infected with SARS. Now, everyone who attended the church on the day of the funeral has been quarantined.

I'm a bit concerned, I must confess. The cleaning lady may (or may not) be in the same social circle as some of the people under quarantine. If they violate the quarantine order and socialize with the cleaning lady, how am I supposed to know? She's quite chummy, and always makes a point of greeting me as she enters the office. Yesterday, after she hung up the phone, I jokingly told her to stay away from me if there was any way she could be infected. I wonder how rude it would be for me to start showing up at the office with a surgical mask!