Doctors in southern China examined a man with SARS symptoms yesterday as neighboring Hong Kong stepped up health checks on travellers to avert another outbreak of the deadly virus ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.
China's first suspected SARS patient since the World Health Organization declared the world SARS-free in July was in hospital in the southern province of Guangdong where the disease first emerged late last year.
"We have heard from a hospital that there is a suspected SARS patient in Guangdong. He is a man and he is not a medical worker," a provincial health bureau official said by telephone.
Hong Kong Health Director Lam Ping-yan identified the patient as a freelance television station worker from booming Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province which borders Hong Kong.
Global health officials have been nervously watching for a resurgence of SARS since the start of the northern winter. Two recent cases in Singapore and Taiwan were linked to accidents in medical research laboratories.
An official from the national health ministry in Beijing said he had been informed of the suspected case but could not yet confirm that the man was suffering from SARS.
The Chinese territory of Hong Kong, a former British colony and hub for global travellers, stepped up health checks on visitors from southern China after being notified of the suspected case on Friday evening.
News of the possible new SARS case comes just weeks before the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday when there is a mass migration from China and Hong Kong overseas.
"Hong Kong will feel terrible," Beijing resident Hou Nan, 36, said. "It is sandwiched between Guangdong and Taiwan, which had one case early this month, and New Year is just around the corner."
If confirmed, the Guangdong case would be the first not linked to laboratory accidents since the World Health Organization made its declaration in July.
China has been on high alert for months amid fears the illness which ravaged many Asian economies and killed around 800 people worldwide might make a comeback this winter.
After emerging in southern China in November last year, SARS was spread by travellers. It went on to infect 8,000 people in nearly 30 countries.
Earlier this month, a research scientist at a Taipei military hospital tested positive for the virus. The only other case involved a research student in Singapore.
On Beijing's sun-lit streets, residents informed of the news did not appear alarmed.
"I don't think it will spread because everybody has learned lessons from this year's outbreak and have attached a lot of importance to this," said Hu Dan, a 50-year-old office worker.
Lin Qiang, a 35-year-old housewife, said she was not surprised.
"SARS cannot be eradicated overnight. It will pop up from time to time," she said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source