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New air travel virus alerts
HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Several Asian nations are clamping down on travelers in an effort to curb the spread of a deadly pneumonia virus that has killed at least 50 people worldwide. With worries intensifying that infected plane passengers were still unwittingly contributing to the global outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the World Health Organization stressed those exposed to the virus should be kept off aircraft. Underlining the call, Singapore Airlines confirmed on Friday that a flight attendant had developed symptoms of SARS probably contracted from a passenger on a Frankfurt-New York flight two weeks ago. No other passengers or crew had shown symptoms and the plane had been disinfected, an airline spokesperson told CNN. Around the world, some 1,300 people in 12 countries have contracted the illness, according to WHO figures. The WHO has called for stringent screening of air travelers at the places hardest hit by the mystery virus, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Toronto, Hanoi, Taipei, Beijing, Shanghai and China's southern Guangdong province. Hong Kong and Taiwan were among the countries to announce new health checks for travelers. All travelers in the former British colony will be required to fill out health declaration forms at all departure and arrival points. Staff will be posted at checkpoints to detect travelers exhibiting symptoms of the virus. Similar measures were in place for travelers arriving in Taiwan, Health Department Director Twu Shing-jer said on Friday. Around 10,000 Taiwanese journey to and from China, Hong Kong and Macau each day, Twu added. Taiwan, with 10 reported cases so far, has formally declared SARS a contagious disease. EerieThe tightening of checks in Hong Kong are the latest steps taken by the government desperate to try to get a grip on the SARS outbreak. The Chinese territory -- where eleven people have died from SARS and 370 are infected -- has shut schools until April 6 and ordered the quarantine of more than 1,000 people in their homes from Monday, on penalty of fines and/or jail. Health officials there reported 51 new cases of patients with SARS symptoms on Thursday -- the biggest single day jump in suspected infections. They have also called for passengers and crew on the March 21 Air China flight CA 111 from Beijing to Hong Kong or Cathay Pacific flight CX510 from Hong Kong to Taipei on the same day to contact the Hong Kong health department. In the city, there is an eerie feeling on Hong Kong's busy streets with many of the territory's 7 million residents wearing surgical masks and jumping at the slightest public cough or sniffle. (Pneumonia paranoia) While the annual Rugby Sevens festival was given the green light to go ahead as planned this weekend, the April 5-6 Beijing leg of the tournament has been canceled. In Singapore, the government nearly doubled the number of people quarantined on Friday, with 1,514 citizens told to stay home. Schools in the city-state have also been shut until April 6. On Thursday, researchers at Hong Kong University said latest tests had confirmed a new virus from the Coronavirus family, which causes common colds, as the primary cause of SARS. But it may have combined with another virus which makes the effects much worse. The virus was thought to be able to survive in open air for up to three hours, officials added. During that time it was possible to transmit infection through such contact as handshakes or even pressing an elevator button previously touched by a disease victim. The virus can be killed by wiping alcohol on infected areas, scientists have found.
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