HONG KONG, 10 September 2003 — Singapore’s shock announcement of a fresh SARS case sent a chill through Asia yesterday as governments braced themselves for a possible return of the deadly disease.
Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, which were worst hit by the virus that killed more than 900 people mainly in Asia, increased health checks on passengers from the city-state as share prices dropped on local stock markets.
Singapore’s announcement yesterday comes more than two months after the outbreak, which battered Asian economies, was declared under control worldwide.
Twenty-five people were also quarantined in the city-state after the 27-year-old post-graduate microbiology student was diagnosed.
China, where the virus is believed to have originated last November, introduced temperature checks for Singaporean passengers arriving at Beijing airport and began disinfecting all planes from the city-state.
“We are very concerned about this incident in Singapore,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan. Hong Kong, the second-worst affected area after China, put its health authorities on high alert and increased health checks on air travelers from Singapore.
“There could be a SARS case coming,” Health Department Deputy Director Leung Pak-ying warned. “We have confidence to contain it, but we have to gear up.”
World Health Organization (WHO) spokesman Peter Cordingley told Asian governments to “prepare for the worst.”
“We don’t accept that what has happened in Singapore today is the beginning of a new outbreak of SARS but it makes everybody understand the lesson that we don’t understand this virus and they should be prepared for the worst,” he told BBC World.
Singapore’s stock market dropped 2.6 percent to 1,580.14 points on the news, with tourism-related stocks among the worst affected.
Singapore Airlines, which suffered heavy losses as regional travel slumped during the first SARS outbreak, closed down 70 cents at 10.80 dollars.
Markets in China and Hong Kong were modestly lower overall, and while their airline and retail companies were in the firing line the impact may have been limited by the fact they closed before the news was confirmed.
The Cabinet of Malaysia, which neighbors Singapore, was due to discuss the case today but Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi ruled out installing thermal scanners at border points. “We do not want to do something that will give the wrong impression on the situation because it could jeopardize tourism and our economy,” he said, according to Bernama news agency.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said he had confidence that Singapore would be able to stop the disease from spreading. “As of now there’s no need to implement any measures, but should any emergency arise we will implement them as soon as possible,” he said.
