|
Security guards wear masks to protect themselves from catching the flu-like SARS viruis in Hong Kong on May 28.(Reuters Photo)
The SARS epidemic apparently began in the
southern Chinese province of Guangdong in
November. It spread to Hong Kong by an
infected doctor and then radiated
through air travelers visiting Hong Kong.
To report an infectious disease:
For more information on SARS:
Learn more about SARS online.
|
Officials said Thursday's jump included 40 patients who earlier tested negative and were later reclassified as confirmed.
The increase came even as the World Health Organization said Taiwan was making "important strides" in controlling its SARS crisis which came to a head later on the island than in other affected Asian countries. WHO cited Taiwan's new screening programs and fever clinics.
The new figures raised Taiwan's total SARS cases to 660. The number includes 122 people who have recovered from severe acute respiratory syndrome and have left the hospital, officials said. The death toll remained unchanged at 81, officials said.
During the past six days, the number of SARS cases reported in Taiwan has been dwindling and officials have become confident the outbreak has peaked. On Wednesday, only 14 cases were reported and 11 were listed on Tuesday.
Worldwide, SARS has killed at least 753 people.
The vast majority of the deaths and most of the more than 8,200 people infected since the pneumonia-like disease emerged in November have been in China's mainland and its territory Hong Kong.
China on Thursday announced two SARS fatalities and three new cases the lowest daily number of infections reported so far.
Beijing accounted for all the new cases and one death, the Health Ministry said. The other fatality occurred in the northern province of Hebei.
Authorities in Beijing say they will fine people who evade health checkpoints or illegally enter quarantine areas.
Beijing is entering a "final crucial moment in the May battle against SARS," newspapers on Thursday quoted the city's Communist Party secretary, Liu Qi, as saying.
SARS has killed at least 327 people on China's mainland, with more than 5,325 infected.
Many activities in the capital are returning to normal, though officials haven't said when discos and other entertainment sites will be allowed to reopen. They were ordered to close a month ago at the height of outbreak.
New penalties announced Wednesday night by the Beijing Joint Working Group for SARS Prevention and Treatment also include fines for failure to properly disinfect areas where SARS cases have been found.
People who evade checkpoints, enter or leave quarantine areas without permission or hinder SARS-related investigations can be fined up to $24 equivalent to about one week's pay for most workers in Beijing.
The working group said companies that break the rules can be fined ten times that amount.
Police and volunteers in Beijing have been operating disease checkpoints since April, watching out for people with fevers or other symptoms.
In Hong Kong, health officials reported three more SARS deaths on Thursday, pushing Hong Kong's toll to 273, although two were elderly women who died last weekend, before officials knew they had the disease.
