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China facing big SARS spread - WHOMore infected in Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada
BEIJING, China (CNN) -- China, where the government has admitted the number of SARS cases in Beijing is far higher than disclosed previously, is facing a "very big" outbreak in its provinces, the World Health Organization said Monday. The disease -- which has killed 209 people and infected nearly 3,900 in 25 countries -- continues to spread, with the Philippines saying it may have suffered its first SARS death, more fatalities in Hong Kong and more infections in Singapore and India. Health officials in China reported six more deaths from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Monday, bringing the death toll to 92, and 194 new confirmed cases. Six more deaths were also reported in Hong Kong where the illness has not killed at least 94 people and infected more than 1,400. The Chinese Ministry of Health said Monday that 2,001 cases have been confirmed in mainland China, up from 1,807 on Sunday. Hundreds more are suspected of being infected. In Guangdong Province, where the disease was first reported, 1,317 confirmed cases of SARS have been reported and 48 people have died. The number of cases jumped in Beijing from 339 on Sunday to 482, ministry officials said. Twenty-five people have died in the capital. But experts said they were particularly worried about China, where leaders have admitted the health care system is poor in the countryside where 70 percent of its 1.3 billion people live. "If you do not have the resources to deal with SARS, I think we're going for a very big outbreak in China," Henk Bekedam, the WHO representative in China, told Reuters. "I think it will be quite a challenge to contain SARS within China, especially those provinces which have very limited resources," he said. China's Gao Qiang, executive vice minister of health, on Sunday announced new steps to slow the spread of the disease, including canceling the popular "Golden Week" holiday "to avoid the nationwide movement of the masses to prevent the further spread of SARS." In addition, Saturday the government issued a special advisory to students, urging them not to travel during their breaks. It was announced Sunday that Chinese Health Minister Zhang Wenkang and Beijing Mayor Meng Xuenong had been dismissed from their Communist Party posts. Meanwhile Singapore announced that all 2,400 employees of a vegetable market are under quarantine after a co-worker fell ill. Border officials turned back five trucks full of fruit and vegetables from Malaysia, saying the drivers recently went to the Singapore market. Singapore reported six new cases Monday, including three children under 9 whose grandfather works at the market. Those raised the total number reported here to 184 -- with 16 deaths. The city-state also urged its lawmakers to take their temperatures before each sitting of parliament and to excuse themselves if they have a fever or if they have been exposed to SARS. Singapore Airlines' regional Asian carrier SilkAir announced it will suspend some flights to Indonesia, China and Thailand in May because of the impact of SARS. The changes would result in 35 fewer flights per week, or a drop of 24 percent of capacity. Canada reported its 14th death from SARS as a major Toronto hospital closed its critical care and other units after staff members began to show symptoms. Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto, which has Canada's largest trauma unit, closed its critical care, cardiovascular intensive care and SARS units Saturday. Officials believe staff members were exposed to the virus a week ago while treating a patient. The closing will place a "huge burden" on Toronto's health care system, the hospital's president and chief executive, Leo Steven, told The Associated Press. In other developments: • The Philippines suffered its first suspected SARS death -- a nurse who had come home from Canada, the only country outside Asia where people have died of SARS since it appeared in China's Guangdong province in November. • Three more people in India have been diagnosed as suffering from SARS, a state minister said, bringing the number of cases reported there to four. • Hong Kong neighbor Macau reported its first suspected SARS case. A 38-year old saleswoman was in quarantine and under close observation. Despite Macau's proximity to Hong Kong, it has somehow managed to as yet avoid confirmed cases of the SARS virus. • Financial analysts have downgraded growth forecasts for most countries in East Asia outside of Japan, saying SARS would pose more of a threat to Asian economic growth -- mainly from reduced spending, tourism and business travel -- than the Iraq war.
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