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China Reports No New Cases of SARS

Posted on: Monday, 2 June 2003, 06:00 CDT

By HELEN LUK

HONG KONG (AP) -- China reported no new cases of SARS for the first time in weeks, another sign the crisis may be easing in Asia, while nurses in Canada accused hospital officials of ignoring warnings of Toronto's latest outbreak.

"It's heartening. But it's not time to think that SARS has been beaten," said Bob Dietz, the World Health Organization spokesman in Beijing, after the Chinese Health Ministry reported no new cases for the first time since April. "No one should drop their guard yet."

The global death toll from severe acute respiratory syndrome rose to at least 771 on Monday after China reported two new deaths on its mainland and Hong Kong reported one. More than 8,300 people have been sickened by the flu-like illness, most of them in Asia.

But Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra predicted that SARS will be contained by the end of this month and that regional economies will recover from its effects by the end of August.

"I think SARS itself is not as (bad) as the fear of SARS. The fear of SARS is outrageous," Thaksin said after the opening a two-day meeting of trade ministers of the 21-member Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

The ministers are expected to endorse an emergency plan to revive trade and tourism affected by SARS.

The disease was first detected in November in southern China, and Chinese authorities were accused of initially trying to cover up the extent of the illness. They have since given WHO access to affected areas.

The deadliest outbreak outside Asia has been in Canada's largest city, Toronto, where authorities believed they had beaten the disease until a new cluster of infections was found in recent weeks in two city hospitals.

Nurses have accused officials at the city's North York General Hospital of dismissing warnings of a new wave of infections, the Toronto Star reported. The 16,000-member Registered Nurses Association of Ontario called for a "full review" of why hospital officials ignored the warnings.

"It appeared government was more focused on the protection of the Toronto tourist industry than the health of our health care workers and members of the public," Marcia Taylor, the Ontario Nurses Association vice president, told the Toronto Star.

Health officials said they did not have the authority to set up a public inquiry into the nurses' claims, but insisted they were ready to listen. More than 5,700 people remained in quarantine Sunday in Toronto, where 31 people have died from the disease.

Taiwan reported four new SARS cases Monday, a single-digit increase for the fourth day in a row, following double-digit increases in recent weeks. Officials in Taiwan's capital have been accused of negligence, despite signs the island's outbreak was abating.

Cheng Ha-yan, a doctor in Hong Kong, died of SARS on Sunday, becoming the eighth and youngest health care worker to be killed by the disease in the territory, officials said. A 53-year-old ward attendant and a 58-year-old doctor died Saturday.

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