| Update on SARS Situation in China (compiled from several sources) 1. BEJING The number of new cases of SARS reported in Beijing has been falling for several days in a roll. On Wednesday, the city reported 39 new cases and five deaths, bringing the cumulative number of infections to more than 2,300 and total deaths to 139. Quarantine orders on three hospitals and a residential neighborhood have been lifted. So far, 16,197 have been released from quarantine and 8,813 people are still under observation. (RTHK, Foreign Affairs Office) Last week, WHO extended its travel warnings to include Tianjin, a nearby city that has reported 171 SARS cases, 102 suspected case, and nine deaths as of May 14. Over 2,000 people are in quarantine for having close contact with SARS patients and suspects in the city. (RTHK, Enorth.com) 2. SHANGHAI Shanghai reported one more confirmed SARS cases last weekend, bringing the number of confirmed SARS cases to seven. One of the confirmed SARS patients is an American. Of the 10 suspected cases, one is Japanese. One of the SARS patients has died. So far, only one death has been reported. (Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau) Taxicabs drivers are now required to wear gauze masks when working and nearly 50,000 taxicabs are required to be disinfected everyday. In addition, the taxi drivers are required to fill out forms recording the time and place of entry and exit of every passenger. They must then submit the forms to their companies at the conclusion of their work day. (Xinhua) Shanghai plans to extend its current quarantine and health monitoring measures to include all travellers passing through the city from any of China's 26 SARS-affected provinces. It was not immediately clear if foreigners would be forced to abide by the same rules, but all travellers will be subject to more stringent health examinations. A mandatory 14-day quarantine for Shanghai residents arriving from the SARS-crisis areas of Guangdong, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Beijing and Hong Kong was ordered a week ago. (Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau) 3. NANJING, JIANGSU In the nearby province of Jiangsu, seven SARS cases and 19 suspected cases have been reported. More than 10,000 people are in quarantine in the provincial capital of Nanjing, which is just 290 km northwest of Shanghai. New anti-SARS measures include putting incoming travellers from SARS-affected areas in quarantine for 15 days. On Monday, local authorities have shut 566 hotels, saunas, hair salons and Internet cafes in a bid to prevent SARS from spreading. (Channel News Asia, China.com.cn) 4. HANGZHOU, ZHEJIANG More than 1,700 people have been quarantined in Hangzhou where four SARS cases and five suspected cases have been reported. Some 1,200 were put into isolation following the confirmation of three cases of SARS over the past two weeks and another 500 joined them over the weekend. (AFP, China.com.cn) 5. REVISED DEATH RATES WHO: SARS Death Rate Is About 15 Percent (9 May 2003) Xinhua, reported by http://www.crienglish.com/ The latest information released by WTO shows the mortality rate of SARS patients could be as high as 14 to 15%, exceeding the previous estimation of 6 to 10 %. The organization says the chances of dying from the disease are closely linked with the patients'age. It puts the morality rate at below 1 percent for those aged 24 or younger, 6 percent for those aged 25 to 44, 15 percent for those 45 to 64 and over 50 percent for people aged 65 or over. It adds that the risk of death could also be influenced by factors related to the SARS virus, the route of exposure, the dose of virus, individual factors such as age or other illness, and access to prompt medical attention. The final mortality rate will only be clear when the epidemic is over. 6. CA FLIGHT 112 WHO traces possible SARS super-spreader (10 May 2003) http://www.rthk.org.hk WHO has identified a 72-year-old Beijing man as a possible SARS super spreader. The UN agency revealed this when giving details of an ill-fated Air China flight from Hong Kong to Beijing. According to the data, the man infected 17-people on the March 15 flight, including nine Hong Kong tourists, a mainland government official and two stewardesses. He then infected a group of Beijing medical workers as he was transferred to three different hospitals before succumbing to the disease on March the 20th. The data shows the man was infected in early March by his niece who was at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong. The two stewardesses later separately returned to their native Inner Mongolia, where they became the source of transmission to more than 280 SARS patients in the northern region. The mainland official attended a meeting of health officials in Bangkok, and while returning to Beijing, infected Pekka Aro, a Finnish man who became the first foreigner to die of SARS in China. |
Shanghai SARS: The Next Level of Precaution