Plan to revive Asia’s economy as hopes SARS on the wane

TRADE ministers in Asia-Pacific countries are to endorse an emergency SARS recovery plan, as China reported no deaths for the first time in seven weeks.

The plan to revive Asia's tourism and other businesses comes as health officials expressed optimism that the outbreaks may be ebbing.

Ministers from the 21-member Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum are set to endorse the APEC Action Plan on SARS at their meeting, to be held today and tomorrow in the north-eastern Thai town of Khon Kaen, said C Lawrence Greenwood, US Ambassador to APEC.

"We want to make sure we get the travel, the tourism going as soon as possible," he said. The plan focuses on "how to make sure health screening is effective but promotes the movement of people." Fears of severe acute respiratory syndrome even affected countries without major outbreaks. In Thailand, for example, tourism arrivals dropped by 40% and some businesses are warning they face bankruptcy.

Since it first emerged last November in China, SARS has killed at least 767 people globally and sickened more than 8,300. A sharp decline in the number of new SARS cases in China has raised hopes that the disease may soon be brought under control.

Yesterday, China's death toll remained at 332, while the Health Ministry reported only two new infections the combined figures were the lowest since April 17 when authorities started providing daily numbers.

After weeks of public anxiety and measures that closed schools and some public facilities and quarantined tens of thousands of people, daily life in Beijing has begun to return to normal. But health authorities have warned residents not to relax preventive measures. Meanwhile, Toronto reported more cases of SARS on Saturday and said the disease may have caused the deaths of four people at a hospital on the edge of the city, which could have wider ramifications for its battle against the virus.

Public health officials said it was still doing autopsies on the four who died earlier this week at the Rouge Valley Centenary hospital east of Toronto and it was not yet clear whether the deaths were from SARS.

The hospital was not on the list of SARS-affected areas, but officials have now closed its emergency units and walk-in clinics as a precautionary measure. In Taiwan, officials handed out free thermometers yesterday in a nationwide "take-your-temperature" campaign to encourage people to check for early symptoms.

Authorities reported just four new cases yesterday, and no deaths for the fourth successive day. Taiwan has had 81 fatalities, out of a total of 680 infections. "The epidemic is ebbing," said Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou, who handed out thermometers at fish and meat markets.

Hong Kong also has seen numbers drop recently, but yesterday, officials mourned the death of the seventh healthcare worker to be killed by SARS.