Asia adopts SARS war plan

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BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- The rigorous screening of international travelers is among measures included in a six-point plan adopted by Asian leaders to try and control the outbreak of the deadly SARS virus.

The leaders of China, Hong Kong and 10 Southeast Asian nations, agreed to the action plan during a summit in Bangkok Tuesday aimed at creating regional unity and cooperation in the fight against SARS.

Leaders at the summit -- the first high-level international gathering to take place in response to the SARS -- say they hope the plan will restore some confidence among the public so that people may resume travel in and to the region.

"Every country must be responsible for the health of their citizens, not allowing their sick people to travel to other parts of the region," Thai Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan said.

Included in the pan-Asian measures, according to Reuters news agency, are:

• The pre-departure and arrival screening of international travelers

• Establishment of an international emergency SARS hotline

• Exchange of information

• Cooperation on research and training

• Meetings to devise other counter measures to combat SARS

• Openness and transparency in dealing with the virus

To date the virus has killed well over 300 people around the world and infected over 5,000 -- with the majority of cases and infections concentrated in Hong Kong and mainland China.

China announced nine new deaths from SARS and 202 cases on Tuesday, bringing the death toll to 148 and the total number of cases to just over 3,300.

Across China's southern border, Hong Kong said it had 12 new SARS deaths but a relatively low figure of 15 new infections.

Although the death toll in the Chinese territory has now hit 150, the low number of new SARS cases gives credence to an announcement from the World Health Organization (WHO) that infections had peaked there

The WHO statement on Monday was a rare bright spot after weeks of bleak SARS news. The health body said the outbreak had also peaked in Vietnam, Canada and Singapore -- but not in China.

China key

China has taken several radical measures in recent days to curb its outbreak, including the shutting down of public venues in the capital Beijing, where SARS has taken its biggest toll in the country, and the establishment of a quarantine camp.

With the virus still on the rise in China, Asian leaders have been keen to encourage China's leaders to cooperate in the pan-regional effort to stop it spreading further.

Most experts see China, where the virus is believed to have originated, as the key to containing SARS.

In the case of Vietnam, the WHO said the communist country had become the first in the world to successfully contain the SARS outbreak after it had passed a key 20-day mark with no new infections.

Singapore's government has, however, said it is too early to declare the virus contained in the city-state, although medical officials there have recorded no new cases in the past two days.

In other developments:

• South Korea said on Tuesday it had its first probable case of SARS, presenting in a man in his 40s who returned Monday from China. The man, who was studying in Beijing, has been placed in quarantine. Seven passengers who say near him on his flight from Beijing to Seoul have been ordered to stay at home and undergo checks.

• Singapore's hospitals issued a blanket ban on visitors Tuesday as part of intensified efforts to contain the SARS outbreak there. Pediatric facilities will be exempt from the ban and visitors to the critically ill would be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, officials said. Nearly 90 percent of all SARS infections in Singapore have taken place in hospitals, and 38 percent have been visitors.

• Canadian health officials are inviting delegates to attend an international meeting on SARS in Toronto later this week. Canada is the only country outside of Asia to have suffered fatalities due to SARS, prompting the WHO to issue a travel advisory last week cautioning travelers to avoid non-essential travel to Toronto, the epicenter of the Canadian outbreak.

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