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SARS: Optimism grows across Asia
(CNN) -- Single digit increases in the number of SARS cases in Taiwan and China is prompting cautious optimism the crisis may be turning the corner. Canada, however, is battling an unexpected resurgence of cases. Taiwan's Center for Disease Control has reported four new cases of SARS, bringing the cumulative number on the island to 680. Two cases were on the northern part of the island, and three were on the southern part, the center said. Taiwan has had 81 deaths from SARS, the center said, a number that has held steady since early last week. China reported two new cases of SARS and no deaths in the 24 hours to 10 a.m. local time (0200 GMT) Sunday, capping a full week of daily single-digit new cases, Reuters reports. One of the new cases was in hard-hit Beijing and the other in the neighboring province of Hebei. Hong Kong, meanwhile, reported three more people dead and three more infections Sunday taking the total death toll to 281 and the number of cases to 1,742. That represents the 18th straight day the number of new infections has been five or under, Reuters reports. The World Health Organization reported 8,360 cases and 764 deaths worldwide as of Friday, the latest day for which figures are available. Meanwhile, Canadian health officials say they are investigating four more deaths last week which may have been caused by SARS. But the deaths, among patients at Rouge Valley Health Center, have not been added to the official death toll, which remains at 30, Dr. James Young, Ontario's commissioner of health, said Saturday. In addition, Toronto has 46 active probable cases of SARS and 13 active suspect cases, he said. Another 7,350 people who show no symptoms but may have been exposed have been ordered to stay in quarantine, Dr. Colin D'Cunha, Ontario's public health commissioner, said. Of the four new deaths that may have been caused by SARS, preliminary tests have shown three of them were infected with the coronavirus that the World Health Organization has implicated as the cause of the disease, Young said. Not all of them had been in isolation, D'Cunha said, meaning that others who were in the hospital at the time may also be at risk. "They didn't present as SARS, and they are not classic of SARS, but in some instances, with testing on autopsy, we're getting varied results in terms of testing for SARS." The lab tests are being repeated, he said. Beijing said on Sunday it had made steady progress in the war on SARS during May but that it could not relax its guard. "We can say that we achieved successive gains in our battle against SARS in May," Cai Fuchao, head of Beijing's publicity department, told a televised news conference. "Of course, we can by no means have a slight lull and lower our guard and we must continue to fight the battle in the period to come." APEC planMeanwhile, senior APEC officials, meeting in Thailand, have endorsed a SARS action plan aimed a restoring public confidence shattered by the outbreak. "SARS has had a negative impact on business in the region and undermined the wellbeing of the global economy," APEC secretariat executive director Piamsak Milintachinda said in a statement released Sunday. "Restoring public confidence is paramount so that business returns to normalcy." The action plan includes short-term initiatives relating to the exchange of information and the adoption of common guiding principles on border health screening. In the medium to long-term, the plan includes initiatives to minimize the impact of SARS on sectors such as tourism, trade and business mobility. The action plan also includes measures to promote cooperation to develop common standards for the monitoring and reporting of infectious diseases.
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