Fewer new Sars cases in HK, Qantas attendant hospitalised

5.45pm

Hong Kong reported only 10 fresh Sars cases on Saturday, the lowest number of new infections in a single day over the past month and a half, but the territory's chief health officer said the disease was not yet under control.

Hong Kong reported an additional nine fatalities from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, taking the total worldwide to 436.

A flight attendant for Australia's Qantas Airways was hospitalised in Sydney with probable Sars after working on a flight from Singapore.

Australia's biggest airline said it was contacting the 341 passengers and 19 crew who were aboard the flight to Sydney as a precautionary measure.

Australia has previously reported four probable Sars cases to the World Health Organisation. Those people have recovered.

More than 6500 people have been infected with Sars, including about 4000 in China, where the disease is believed to have originated last year.

Sars first erupted in southern Guangdong province but has since ravaged mostly Beijing, where almost 100 people have died. It spread to nearby Hong Kong this year and was then taken around the world by air travellers.

China, the country worst affected by Sars, tripled the amount of money set aside to combat the disease to six billion yuan ($1.302 billion) as authorities reported at least nine more deaths.

Although the number of new cases in Hong Kong was the lowest in a single day since March 17, Director of Health Margaret Chan told a local radio station the virus remained unpredictable.

"There has been a decreasing trend, new cases have decreased very gradually, but it's like a moving target so we have to be very careful," Chan said on the RTHK network.

"There are some patients now who are in a serious condition. Yes, there is a chance that the number of deaths will continue to rise," she added.

Hong Kong has reported about 1600 Sars cases of whom about 900 are still being treated. Of these, about 80 are in serious condition.

Chan also said the disease may have come to stay.

"Some experts' view is that the virus cannot be destroyed and won't disappear from Hong Kong and other countries," she said.

Symptoms of Sars include high fever, cough and pneumonia, and there is no standard treatment. It is mainly passed by droplets through sneezing and coughing.

China, with most of its residents closeted at home on the third day of the Labour Day holiday, reported another 181 Sars cases and allocated more resources to containing the disease.

There is great worry that Sars could spread to the country's vast provinces, where it could overwhelm the creaky health system. Already in Beijing, some 1750 people are infected and about 14,000 have been quarantined.

The country has cut short the Labour Day holiday, which usually lasts for a week, to a long weekend this year, and has advised people to stay at home.

Finance Minister Jin Renqing said in an interview with state television that an additional four billion yuan would be poured into a a two billion yuan Sars fund.

The fund would be used to pay for medical bills of impoverished rural and urban residents, stipends for health care workers on the front line battling Sars, purchasing medical equipment in the hinterland and scientific research.

"Hospitals should treat patients first and talk about money second," Jin told CCTV's news channel.

"For those who don't have health care insurance, we, the Ministry of Finance, will be responsible for them to the end," he added.

Singapore said it had made strides in containing new Sars infections by controlling the spread of the disease within hospitals. Most of the victims in the island republic have been hospital visitors, doctors and nurses infected by sufferers.

The Canadian government said yesterday that it would set aside C$100 million ($126 million) this year to combat Sars, which has killed 23 people in Canada.

In a statement from Prime Minister Jean Chretien's office, the government detailed steps it said were aimed at protecting the health of those who live in Canada and visit the country.

Those included measures to help Canadians affected by the nonmedical consequences of the outbreak such as the dampening effect on tourism.

"To manage this effort, the Government of Canada has set aside a minimum of C$100 million this fiscal year for the fight against Sars," the government said.

The government's current fiscal year began in April.

In Toronto, the flashpoint of the Sars outbreak in Canada, Mayor Mel Lastman said that combined with C$118 million earmarked by the Ontario provincial government and a C$25 million advertising campaign, the federal funds will put Toronto "on the road to recovery."

Lastman praised the American Library Association for not cancelling its upcoming conference in Toronto, which he said will bring in 25,000 visitors and pump C$50 million into the sprawling city's economy.

Earlier yesterday, Federal Industry Minister Allan Rock, who is responsible for tourism, said Canada would soon launch an aggressive world-wide campaign to persuade tourists that it is safe to visit Toronto as health officials report fewer SARS patients in hospitals. The campaign will likely be launched next week.

He did not say how much it would cost but said the government's contribution would be over and above the C$10 million ($7 million) earmarked to help a separate Toronto initiative to woo back tourists.

"We're going to be bringing some money to the table; others will as well, I'm certain, and the focus will be on moving quickly and aggressively to send the message to all the markets that Toronto is a safe place to be and it's open for business," Rock told reporters.

Toronto, where there have been 23 deaths and at least 264 cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, is the only place outside Asia where people have died from the viral infection.

Ontario health officials said on Friday that 176 people, or two-thirds of SARS patients, had been discharged from hospital, an increase from 127 on April 23.

They also said there were 30 active probable hospital cases as of Friday, compared with 53 on April 23.

For a week, Toronto, China and Hong Kong were subjects of a World Health Organisation advisory warning people to stay away. But the WHO rescinded the warning for Toronto this week, to the relief of hard-hit hotels, restaurants and shops.

The government responded to the lifting of the ban with full-page advertisements in Canadian newspapers on Friday.

Rock said he would address a conference of 200 North American travel writers in New York on Monday. "I'm going to be taking every opportunity in Canada and outside to correct (wrong) impressions, to set the record straight," he said.

- REUTERS