LATEST MAINLAND DEVELOPMENTS

Ministry of Health reported 34 new Sars cases and five deaths bringing the national totals to 5,309 and 308 respectively.

Henan province has punished 800 officials, health workers and others for failing to perform their duties to control the spread of Sars.

Guangdong issued a bulletin reaffirming a ban on the consumption of endangered civet cats and ordered health authorities to step up monitoring and crackdown on illegal traffickers.

Public venues like cinemas, Internet cafes and theatres in Beijing City will stay closed although the number of new infections has steadied in the past week.