The Hindu : China SARS case sparks WHO concern

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 26, 2003

International

International

China SARS case sparks WHO concern

Beijing June 25 . A day after being declared SARS-free, China today reported a new case of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in Guangdong province, sparking concern from the World Health Orgaisation.

One death was also recorded, in Beijing, the Health Ministry said.

``This does not affect our decision and the emergence of another case stays within our guidelines,'' a WHO spokesman, Bob Dietz, said.

``We are concerned, but our concern would be greater if this was a new emerging case and not a case that has developed from an already identified suspected case.

``We know there are people suspected of having SARS, a person not diagnosed as suspected who emerges as a probable case would be a matter of greater concern.

``We do not want to see SARS re-emerge in the general public at large.''

The WHO yesterday lifted its travel advisory against Beijing, the world's most SARS-hit city, and pronounced the country free from the chain of local transmission.

Celebrations

Earlier, with flying confetti and clanging gongs, Beijing celebrated the lifting of the World Health Organization's SARS travel warning over the city, reopened discos and Internet cafes and sought to resuscitate its battered tourism industry.

Banner headlines in Chinese newspapers cheered WHO's yesterday's announcement giving a clean bill of health to the capital of the nation where the outbreak began and lifting the last remaining SARS warning anywhere in the world.

``Our wish is finally fulfilled, we smile again,'' the popular Beijing Youth Daily said above a photograph of city residents posing in front of a banner reading, ``We win!''

``Beijing returns to normal,'' the China Youth Daily said on its front page.

Beijing was simultaneously removed from a WHO list of places with recent local transmissions of the disease — a move recognising the passage of more than 20 days since the last SARS case was isolated.

City travel bureau officials and representatives of tour agencies rallied at the Beijing Exhibition Hall to relaunch the city's tourism industry. Hotels, tour agencies and transportation companies are reported to have suffered 16 billion yuan ($1.9 billions) losses during the outbreak. An estimated 10 million fewer visitors came to the city during the first half of the year due to domestic travel restrictions and foreigners heeding the April 23 WHO advisory, which urged people to delay any non-urgent trips.

``We've taken the opportunity of this suspension to move the Beijing travel industry up a step,'' said Ding Changjiang, director of the Beijing Travel Bureau. — AP/AFP

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