WHO may lift China's SARS travel warning
AFP, Beijing
A steady drop in SARS numbers in China could cause the World Health Organization (WHO) to remove a warning against travel to parts of the country previously considered among the most heavily infected areas in the world, a WHO official said Tuesday. The WHO's suggestion that it might change its travel advisory for large tracts of northern China came one day after the government announced no new cases for the first time in more than a month. "I think if they continue like this, we will (lift the advisory)," said Henk Bekedam, the WHO's representative in China. WHO travel warnings are currently in place for Beijing and Tianjin cities and the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia. China on Monday reported no new cases of SARS for the first time since it began releasing daily figures on April 20. "I think it is very promising," said Bekedam. "We are very encouraged with the decline (in cases) and we do believe it is a reflection of the control measures put in place by China." The nationwide death toll is 334, with the number of people infected with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) on the mainland standing at 5,328.
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