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China vows to be vigilant as SARS epidemic wanes

China admitted yesterday the battle against SARS remained "arduous" even as the number of reported deaths and new cases continued to fall.

In contrast, however, the number of cases in Canada's resurgent outbreak almost tripled after it was forced to reclassify previously cleared patients as sufferers of SARS.

China's health ministry warned there remained challenges ahead despite an easing in its SARS crisis.

In a statement yesterday it said the outbreak of the disease in China had "shown signs of alleviation" but warned "we should realize clearly that the task of controlling SARS is still arduous."

Vice Health Minister Gao Qiang (高強) added, "There is still a long way to go toward eventual elimination of SARS. We cannot relax our vigilance because of the lower number of new cases."

Seven new cases and one death brought China's toll to 328 dead from 5,328 infections. Earlier this month the daily average of new cases was 151, but by mid-month, it had dropped to 45, and to 14 by the end of the month, Gao said.

In the battle to keep SARS out of China's largest and most important economic city, Shanghai officials said yesterday they had in the past two months quarantined nearly 29,000 people.

News of the astounding figure came as Shanghai authorities announced they were revising strict quarantine rules that had until recently been placing residents and travelers returning to the city from SARS crisis areas under a 14-day period of isolation and medical monitoring.

Due to the declining number of new SARS infections, travelers arriving in the city of 16 million will now only be subject to a health test, Peng Jing, vice director of the Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau, said at a press briefing.

At one point, Shanghai authorities extended 14-day quarantine and health monitoring measures to include all travelers passing through the city from any of China's 26 SARS-affected provinces.

It then backed off the draconian initiative with a proposal to only closely monitor travelers arriving from Guangdong, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Beijing and Hong Kong.

Of the 28,716 people who underwent some form of quarantine over the past two months, 87 were admitted to hospital as suspected cases, Peng said.

So far the city has confirmed only eight cases of the illness, although the low figure has continuously aroused suspicion that the government may be under-reporting cases.

As of yesterday, of Shanghai's confirmed cases, two have died, two were released and four remain in hospital. Only one person is currently under observation as a suspected case, the health bureau reported on its Web site.

The ebbing crisis in China was matched elsewhere in Asia.

Hong Kong reported just four new SARS cases and one more death, bringing its cumulative totals to 274 dead from 1,736 cases. Its daily infection rate has remained in single digits since mid-month.

And Singapore -- where 31 people have died from SARS -- was awaiting removal from the World Health Organization's (WHO) list of SARS-affected countries after clocking up 19 days without a new infection. The WHO demands a nation go 20 days without reporting any new infections to be declared SARS-free.

Across the Pacific, however, the news was less upbeat as Canada was forced to almost triple its number of SARS infections after adopting a different disease identification procedure.

Under the previous definition of an active probable case -- established by Ontario health officials -- Canada had 12 infections from a new cluster discovered in Toronto last week.

But under the newly adopted WHO classification, the number rose to 33, including four who had died soon after the outbreak's discovery.

Health officials switched definitions after coming under fire on Wednesday for possibly under-reporting the illness.

A new increase in cases could put Toronto back on the WHO's travel advisory list weeks after it was removed. Earlier this week, Toronto was reinstated on the list of SARS-affected areas.

The latest outbreak is being traced to a 96-year-old man, who apparently contracted SARS after pelvic surgery at North York General Hospital.

Canadian authorities are particularly worried about the effects of the new outbreak on its already ailing tourism industry.
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