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SARS tally soaring in Taiwan
TAIPEI, Taiwan (CNN) -- Taiwan has confirmed 39 new cases of SARS as the outbreak of the deadly virus continues to grow faster on the island than in any other area of the world. Taiwan's Center for Disease Control also announced 12 new SARS deaths, bringing the total number of fatalities on the island to 52. With 383 confirmed cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome, Taiwan is the third worst hit area in the world after Hong Kong and mainland China, and the only area where cases are continuing to soar. Apart from Monday -- which was a public holiday when no new figures were released -- Taiwan has now seen three straight days where the daily tally of new cases has broken the previous record. Last week, Taiwan's Minister of Health Twu Shiing-jer announced his resignation on Taiwanese TV over continued criticism of the way authorities were handling the outbreak. Sources close to the battle against SARS have said that Taiwan is at a crossroads. They say unless officials move quickly to contain the outbreak in hospitals and do a more effective job of tracing contacts of suspected patients, the epidemic risks taking a further turn for the worse with potentially serious consequences for the health care system. Mainland China numbers downMainland China, meanwhile, which has seen the world's largest number of SARS cases, reported five new deaths and 17 cases Tuesday, a slight rise on Monday's numbers, but a continuation of a steady downward trend in the number of officially reported cases. Beijing, one of the worst-hit areas, has seen an especially rapid decline in cases. However, city health officials have denied that a rapid decrease in the capital's figures in recent days indicated intentional under-reporting or a cover-up. "I do not think we can exclude the possibility of a fluctuation in the number of new cases," Liang Wannian, a deputy chief of the Beijing health administration, told a news conference. He added that as China's goal is to eradicate SARS, there is no reason to under-report the numbers now. On April 20, China's health minister was fired along with Beijing's mayor for having seriously under-reported the number of SARS cases in China to that point. On Monday, the head of the World Health Organization's team in Beijing said he remained concerned that some people with mild SARS symptoms might be released from the hospital too early or otherwise not counted among SARS victims. The WHO says it believes the information gap is technical in nature and not a cover-up. Liang acknowledged that while new cases were sometimes misdiagnosed by mistake, the extent of under-reporting is negligible. Worldwide, more than 7,800 cases and 643 SARS deaths have been reported by the WHO. CNN correspondents Mike Chinoy and Lisa Rose Weaver contributed to this report.
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