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Jane Parry

As regional travel warnings are lifted, the Ministry of Health vows to remain vigilant

The Ministry of Health yesterday vowed to maintain  Sars prevention measures despite the lifting of travel warnings on four mainland regions by the WHO.

While hailing the World Health Organisation's all-clear for Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia as an  achievement, the ministry stressed that vigilance must be maintained.

In addition to lifting the travel ban, the WHO on Friday also took Guangdong province, the first to be hit by the outbreak, off the list of areas with local transmissions.

'Preventing the resurgence of Sars should be the priority at present,' the ministry said.

The mainland will maintain its recently opened fever clinics to stop Sars being spread in hospitals and continue checks at ports, airports, railway stations, schools and construction sites for potential infections.

Beijing is now the only mainland  city remaining on the WHO's advisory list, since the number of Sars patients in hospital there exceeds 60.

The mainland yesterday  reported two deaths, both in Beijing, and no new infections. The death toll on the mainland now stands at 345, with more than 5,300 infections - about half the global total.

Sun Gang, deputy director of the National Tourism Administration, was jubilant about the lifting of the travel warning, saying it was 'wonderful news' for the travel industry.

People in Sars-affected areas of northern China also expressed relief at the decision, especially in regions dependant on tourism.

Mr Li, the manager of Pingyao Tourism Bureau in Shanxi province, said it was high time the ban was lifted. Tourism revenue in Pingyao, an historic walled city, dropped by 4.5 million yuan (HK$4.2 million) last month compared to the previous year as a result of the Sars outbreak, he said.

'Pingyao has never had a case of Sars because we took specific measures to stop it,' said Mr Li. City businesses said there had been virtually no tourists visiting last month. 'With the advisory removed, we should see a big change,' Mr Li said.

The WHO's travel advisory on Shanxi, which has had 448 Sars cases, was issued on April 23. The same day, it put out a warning on Inner Mongolia, which has seen 282 cases.

On May 8, advisories were issued for Hebei, which has reported 215 cases, and Tianjin, which had 175 cases. Residents and officials from all four areas had claimed as early as the middle of last month that Sars was under control.

The optimistic reaction from tourism industry workers comes despite the fact a nationwide ban remains on organised tours.

'Of course, I'm very happy,' said Deng Xiaowei, a communicable disease expert with the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control in Taiyuan, the provincial capital of Shanxi. 'This is the result of our hard work. It's a victory for travel in Shanxi. We've controlled the outbreak, so we welcome tourists to come back.'

In Inner Mongolia, not all health officials had been informed about the lifted advisory.

However, a staff member at the region's Sars command centre said the lifting of the ban was 'definitely good news'.

But a Hohhot university student, who was under orders not to leave campus or return to her Sars-affected home town in western Inner Mongolia, said the travel ban had been removed too soon.

'It's not so stable yet - look at Canada, it can come back,' said Liu Meibo.

'I'm not too optimistic. I think by September it should be safe.'

By contrast, a Beijing media worker said city leaders were not disappointed that the capital still remained on the travel advisory list.

'It's just a question of standards,' she said.

'If the advisory hasn't been removed, that means things are still being monitored.'



Mainland keeps Sars controls