China orders schools shut for two more weeks over SARS fears

CHINA ordered schools in Beijing to stay closed for another two weeks and put aside politics to allow a WHO team to visit rival Taiwan as the communist giant took tough measures to contain the spread of the lethal SARS virus.

In Hong Kong, a major health scare ended happily for 10 Indian sailors, who were released from hospital and declared free of the virus after their tanker made an emergency stop in the territory when members of its crew showed symptoms of SARS.

Beijing, which had been reporting more than 100 new cases a day over the past couple of weeks, saw 69 fresh cases and four deaths yesterday, the health ministry said. Health officials said the SARS outbreak had begun to peak in Beijing. But authorities, taking no chances after being harshly criticised for covering up the extent of the virus, yesterday said elementary schools, which had been due to reopen on May 8 after a two-week suspension, would remain closed. While SARS may be coming under control in the capital city of 14 million the worst-affected place in the world concern has grown about its spread to the impoverished countryside, where 70% of China's 1.3 billion people live.