China confirmed two more SARS cases yesterday, doubling the number of infected people linked to a Beijing laboratory believed responsible for the latest small outbreak of the viral disease.
The mother and aunt of an infected nurse were the latest cases, according to China's Ministry of Health. One was listed as critically ill, though it was unclear which. The announcement brought China's number of cases to four confirmed and five suspected.
But even as the numbers rose, the Chinese government and the World Health Organization (WHO) emphasized that the SARS cases appeared to be contained to people linked to Beijing's Institute of Virology, a national laboratory.
An international medical team was set to visit the institute and determine whether procedures there contributed to the reappearance of SARS, China's government said.
It wants to stem both the disease and public panic to prevent a recurrence of events last year, when 349 people in China died of SARS after it roared out of Guangdong Province. About 774 died worldwide, thousands were sickened and the economic repercussions were severe.
Tracking the current cases is especially urgent because one of China's "Big Three" national holidays -- the weeklong May Day, or Labor Day vacation -- begins tomorrow. Millions will be traveling around the country, and any SARS carriers could infect people over a wide area.
One hugely popular vacation spot is the Huangshan mountain resort in Anhui Province, where investigators were probing SARS links Thursday. But WHO said Chinese travelers shouldn't worry as their holiday begins.
"In terms of members of the public, we don't believe there is any reason to cancel or delay any travel plans that they might have had for the upcoming holidays," Dr. Julie Hall, WHO's SARS team leader in Beijing, told reporters yesterday.
During the initial SARS outbreak last year, China's government sharply restricted all travel and essentially canceled the May Day holiday. But yesterday, no surgical masks -- common last year -- were seen on travelers at Beijing's main railway station.
"This time there's nothing to worry about. They already found the source of the infections," said Dong Ming, traveling home to Shandong Province for May Day.
"Everything is safe. Everything is disinfected," said a man bound for a vacation in the southern city of Hangzhou. He gave only his family name, Wang. "We learned last year how to prevent SARS."
Official media said about 1,000 people, including 700 in Beijing, remained in quarantine yesterday.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
‘NARWHAL’: The indigenous submarine completed its harbor acceptance test recently and is now under heavy guard as it undergoes tests in open waters, a source said The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, yesterday began sea trials, sailing out of the Port of Kaohsiung, a military source said. Also known as the “Narwhal,” the vessel departed from CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard at about 8am, where it had been docked. More than 10 technicians and military personnel were on deck, with several others standing atop the sail. After recently completing its harbor acceptance test, the vessel has started a series of sea-based trials, including tests of its propulsion and navigational systems, while partially surfaced, the source said. The Hai Kun underwent tests in the port from
RSS