The Hindu : Situation turns grim as toll goes up

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 25, 2003

International

International

Situation turns grim as toll goes up

By P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE April 24. The public health crisis gripping China over the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) menace came into sharper international focus today, as the Chinese authorities announced drastic steps, including systematic quarantine orders, in a bid to arrest the further spread of the disease. Of prime concern to the Chinese Government was the upkeep of Beijing, where people required to be counselled against fleeing homes and causing a further chain reaction of more infections and a greater sense of insecurity.

The Chinese Government, which has come under strictures from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the failure to take appropriate measures from last November when the problem first set in, did not formally protest against the WHO's latest advisory against travel to Beijing (as also Toronto in Canada). Instead, Chinese officials reaffirmed their resolve to contain the emergency through a multi-pronged approach that would include a systematic quarantine for certain categories of suspected cases and a clean-up campaign that would cover the isolation of not only the afflicted people but also the affected places and buildings.

On the political front, China exuded confidence about being able to ride out the crisis through healthcare measures and through research aimed at understanding the new disease and curing or eliminating it.

It was announced in Beijing today that the Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao, will meet the leaders of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Bangkok on Tuesday next week. Thailand's Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, who will play host to this special ASEAN summit on SARS, invited Mr. Wen to enter into a China-ASEAN dialogue on the SARS menace.

As for the profile of sorrow, the Chinese authorities painted a grim picture for yet another day. The total number of confirmed cases was put at 2,422, while the death roll stood at 110. In Beijing alone, the total cases rose to 774 even as the toll in the city rose to 39. The number of suspected cases all over China rose to 1,278. Of these, Beijing accounted for 863.

The virulence of SARS continued to be felt in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. In Singapore, the Government on Thursday announced its intention to raise penalties to alarming levels so that those served with quarantine orders would observe the rules and precautions. Legislation on this subject was expected to be passed soon. The City-State's strategy was defined more sharply than before as one of isolating the affected persons (and treating them) and containing the disease from spreading.

Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, told Parliament that the SARS outbreak had already come to pose a "grave threat'' to society and the economy.

To prevent the situation from spiralling into a catastrophe, the Infectious Diseases Act would be urgently amended to provide for remedies.

While an economic relief package of $230 millions was being put together, the airport authorities have begun "thermal scanning'' of passengers to look for signs of SARS among passengers.

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