EU scraps plan to test travellers for SARS

EUROPEAN Union health ministers have backed away from a proposal to screen travellers from areas affected by the SARS virus after taking advice from a senior UN health official.

Officials said the idea of screening incoming travellers was backed by Italy at an emergency meeting of EU health ministers, but Germany and others opposed it.

The proposal was among several laid out in draft conclusions of an emergency meeting of health ministers in Brussels called to discuss how to prevent the flu-like illness from spreading in Europe.

Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters in a village and a city in central China tore down fences around two hospitals after hearing that suspected SARS cases would be treated there, officials said yesterday. More than 25,000 people were under quarantine in Beijing and the eastern city of Nanjing.

The violence in Henan province added to spreading incidents of protest over how local Chinese authorities are handling cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome.

SARS has killed at least 214 people on China's mainland, including eight deaths reported yesterday, and sickened more than 4,400.

Many deaths have been in urban areas, but health authorities are warning that the disease might spread into the poorer countryside.

In hard-hit Beijing, the situation "remains grave" despite recent drastic measures, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was quoted as saying in state newspapers. Beijing has reported 107 deaths and at least 1,900 cases of infection.

The head of the World Health Organisation told European health ministers in Brussels to remain vigilant, predicting the deadly SARS virus had "not seen a peak" in China yet.

Gro Harlem Brundtland, director-general of WHO, said her latest reports showed a continuing rise and spread of the outbreak despite increased efforts to stop the flu-like virus.

"There is still a considerable number of cases everyday," Ms Brundtland told reporters after meeting with EU Health Commissioner David Byrne. "Certainly, we have not seen a peak in China yet ... there is obviously an increase in the outbreak going on."

Some 30,000 inspectors have been deployed in the capital to search for cases of infection. The city has restricted access to its reservoirs to reassure the public the drinking water is safe.

The neighbouring densely-populated province of Hebei reported six new cases yesterday, bringing its total to 113. World Health Organisation investigators who have visited Beijing and other cities are considering going to Hebei to study its anti-SARS efforts.

Also yesterday, US electronics maker Motorola said it has closed its China headquarters in Beijing after an employee contracted SARS.

More than 1,000 employees have been working from home since the 18-storey headquarters was shut down April 29, said company spokeswoman An Weihong. She said they have been asked not to return to work until next Monday.