SARS case dashes Singapore’s hopes

A LAST-MINUTE case has shattered Singapore’s dream of being stricken off the World Health Organisation’s list of SARS-affected countries, after a 39-year-old man was diagnosed with the disease.

"With this development, Singapore will not be classified as a SARS-free country," health minister Lim Hng Kiang told a news conference yesterday.

"We have not established the source of his infection, we are still investigating," he added.

Lim identified the new case as Lee Chong Kian, a Malaysian who is a permanent resident in Singapore, where he works as a surveyor.

He was warded at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, the SARS-designated treatment centre, after coming down with fever on May 11. He was reported to be a confirmed SARS case yesterday.

"We'll have to find out what is the source of this case. WHO will have to evaluate," Mr Lim said.

Singapore, where SARS has killed 28 people, had hoped to be removed from the WHO's list of SARS-affected countries yesterday, 20 days after the last local transmission was reported.

A clean bill of health by the global health watchdog would allow a return of travellers to the city-state, where the SARS health scare has wrought havoc on tourism-related industries.

Taiwan saw its biggest one-day jump in SARS infections yesterday, while the country's new health minister sought to ease Japanese outrage at the discovery that an infected Taiwanese doctor had travelled to Japan earlier this month.

Since first emerging in southern China in November, SARS has killed 635 people worldwide and infected over 7,800, most of them in Asia.

The WHO has said most of the outbreaks are winding down, but Taiwan's problem keeps getting worse.

The island reported three deaths yesterday and 36 new cases of the virus. On Saturday, Taiwan witnessed a record single-day jump of 34 cases.

The previous health minister resigned on Friday, taking responsibility for the crisis. About 30% of SARS patients are medical workers, officials said.

The new health minister, Chen Chien-jen, said yesterday the Taiwanese doctor from Taipei who vacationed in Japan earlier this month did not know he was infected.

The 26-year-old doctor, from Mackay Memorial Hospital, sought treatment for fever after he returned to Taiwan last Tuesday, and was tested positive for SARS on Saturday.

"Many of our medical workers have worked extremely hard these days and there is nothing wrong with having some rest and entertainment," Mr Chen said.

"But if possible, I hope they will not travel abroad at this time ... to avoid exporting the virus."

Fearful of the spread of SARS into Japan, officials from the country's second-largest city, Osaka, and nearby towns held emergency talks on preventative measures yesterday after learning of the doctor's visit.

In China, health officials warned that more farmers are catching the disease in the northern province of Shanxi. China yesterday announced 28 new SARS cases on the mainland and two deaths the lowest daily number of fatalities since the government began issuing regular figures.