NZ's Beijing migration office closed by Sars

By REBECCA WALSH and NZPA

The Immigration Service has closed its Beijing office after a person died in the same building complex and others reported symptoms of Sars.

Service spokesman Ian Smith said the closure was temporary and would be reviewed daily. Most of the 56 staff, which included seven New Zealanders, had been sent home on Monday.

The remaining staff had been sent home after more people in the office complex of two tower blocks reported signs of severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars). A Finnish official of the UN International Labour Organisation died on Sunday in a Beijing hospital.

Mr Smith said a temporary office had been set up at a nearby hotel where the office manager and some staff were processing any urgent visa applications. None of the staff had exhibited any symptoms of the illness.

"This is purely a precautionary measure to minimise the risks. All other NZIS branches in Asia are still operating as normal."

At least 103 people have died worldwide from Sars and 2750 have been infected in about 20 countries. Nearly half the cases are in China. Although the epidemic is small, it concerns doctors because the virus that causes Sars is new, infectious and has a death rate of nearly 4 per cent.

As the virus spreads, organisations and public institutions in New Zealand are taking moves to reduce the risk here:

* Auckland University yesterday strongly advised students to avoid travel into any country or area identified as being at risk of Sars.

Students who travelled to an at-risk area (or spent time in transit there) or were in contact with a person with Sars, would have to stay at home for 10 days before returning to campus.

* Qantas is to make 1,000 staff redundant before the end of June in response to the twin troubles of war in Iraq and the Sars virus.

* The Maritime Union has told its members not to work on any inbound vessel unless it is declared "Sars free" by medical authorities.

The general secretary of the union, Trevor Hanson, said the decision was made after members started asking questions about their safety with ships arriving daily from Southeast Asia.

"We are working with the crew ... in close contact checking the cargo. It is a valid concern. We just have to keep an eye on it."

Much of the focus has centred on China where health agencies are accusing authorities of hiding the virus and under-reporting cases.

Although Chinese officials said the epidemic was under control, Chinese doctors spoke of packed wards and many more deaths than reported by Beijing. Several doctors said epidemic wards at their hospitals were full with suspected Sars patients and one hospital had shut its doors to outpatients for nearly a week.

"It's impossible there are only 19 Sars cases in Beijing," said a doctor at the Beijing University No 1 Hospital on Tuesday. "There are no beds left in our epidemic ward."