China's SARS tally waning
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A traveler fills in a health declaration form before boarding a train in Beijing.
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CNN's Mike Chinoy reports on Taiwan's WHO application as SARS grips the nation
Police in Tianjin, China, have joined the fight against SARS.
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BEIJING, China (CNN) -- Chinese medical authorities reported only 12 new SARS cases Monday, one of the lowest levels of infections since China started providing regular updates on the outbreak.
Those new cases -- and five new deaths -- represent a dramatic plunge in SARS cases across China, according to figures from the Ministry of Health.
But China's Health Minister Wu Yi warned of a relapse of the epidemic if people become complacent.
"We cannot lower our guard, as the epidemic might relapse with even minor oversight," Wu said, according to state-run news agencies, adding the SARS epidemic is under control "to a certain extent."
The daily tally of confirmed cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome has been less than 100 for the past 10 days, from a height of more than 150 cases per day in early May. The Ministry of Health also reported 64 suspected cases of SARS in China, with 27 of those in Beijing.
The World Health Organization has warned that Chinese health authorities may be missing some SARS patients by not counting those with only light symptoms. The agency has characterized the potential problem as one of classification.
As of Saturday, the WHO had tallied more than 5,200 SARS cases in mainland China since November and 282 deaths. Worldwide, more than 7,700 cases and 623 deaths have been reported.
Meanwhile in Taiwan, the SARS outbreak is worsening. It now has the third-highest number of SARS victims behind China and Hong Kong. Officials say the fact that the island is not a member of the WHO has made containing the spread of SARS harder. (Full story)
"The whole world recognizes that if Taiwan is not part of the WHO or part of the international medical community, then Taiwan is going to be a serious loophole in containing the SARS disease," said Joseph Wu, Taiwan presidential adviser.
The WHO counts more than 35 deaths in Taiwan, where just Friday Health Minister Twu Shiing-jer quit over criticism of the way authorities have handled the outbreak.
