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SARS disaster feared in rural China
ABC Radio Australia News ^
| April 22, 2003
Posted on 04/22/2003 10:45:04 AM PDT by Dog Gone
China has banned tourists from visiting country and remote areas in an effort to prevent the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.
The Xinhua newsagency says the ban has been imposed by China's national tourism administration.
Officials fear a disaster, if there is an uncontrolled outbreak of SARS in rural, impoverished areas where good medical facilities are lacking.
Already, SARS cases have been reported in 19 of China's 31 provinces and municipalities.
A national tourism and trade fair scheduled for early June in eastern Zhejiang province has now been postponed until next year.
China has reported 97 deaths from the flu-like virus and 2,158 infections. The global death toll stands at 236.
TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: sars
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1
posted on
04/22/2003 10:45:04 AM PDT
by
Dog Gone
To: Dog Gone
China has reported 97 deaths from the flu-like virus and 2,158 infections. The global death toll stands at 236.I very much doubt their numbers. When you take their numbers out of totals, the death rate is much higher.
To: Dog Gone
Banning tourists does not have much impact unless other travel is also banned.
It does, however, make it much less likely that reports will leak out about what conditions are really like in the banned areas.
3
posted on
04/22/2003 10:51:21 AM PDT
by
EternalHope
(Boycott everything French forever.)
To: EternalHope
Nevertheless, it indicates how seriously China must view the problem. Banning tourism is a pocketbook issue. I've never heard of a country doing this before.
4
posted on
04/22/2003 10:54:08 AM PDT
by
Dog Gone
To: Dog Gone
Did anyone else have a big "Hmmmmm?" come over them when SARS first came out and its largest outbreak was traced to China?
To: Dog Gone
KNOWN DEATH TOLL
Hong Kong: 99
China: 97
Canada: 14
Singapore: 16
Vietnam: 5
Thailand: 2
Malaysia: 2
6
posted on
04/22/2003 10:56:03 AM PDT
by
seeker41
To: seeker41
Also, the stats I've seen from China claim over 1200 recovered, and no other place with any number of SARS patients has a large number of recovered with such smaller number of deaths. Either the deaths are larger, or the recovered are smaller, or SARS isn't so bad.
To: pram
We'll know soon enough which numbers are accurate. The nature of SARS makes it difficult to combat without free flow of information. If the truth doesn't leak out through their censorship filters, at least it'll manifest itself in more obvious ways. If I were the Chinese government I'd fear this disease more than pro-democracy activists, ethnic separatists, Falun Gong practitioners, and the US military put together.
To: pram
The current 5.6 percent death rate for SARS is much higher than that for the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic, which was less than 1 percent, said Stoehr. But the influenza pandemic killed from 20 million to 40 million people in the world because it spread so quickly. From
http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Apr/04222003/nation_w/50118.asp
9
posted on
04/22/2003 11:10:48 AM PDT
by
seeker41
To: CathyRyan; Judith Anne; Mother Abigail; blam
ping.
To: seeker41
If you catch SARS and recover, can you catch it again, like a cold? Anyone know?
To: Dog Gone
According to the CDC press conference going on right now, there are now 39 probable cases in the US.
To: N. Theknow
Did anyone else have a big "Hmmmmm?" I did indeed...with commies it's always hard to discern between ineptitude and malfeasance. Is this simply Chinese population policy taken to the next level?
To: Dog Gone
...And China is such a trustworthy source for information....
14
posted on
04/22/2003 11:46:33 AM PDT
by
onedoug
To: Dog Gone
They don't want tourists in the countryside because the full extent of their bungling would be known to the world
15
posted on
04/22/2003 11:50:41 AM PDT
by
Nov3
To: Number_Cruncher
If you catch SARS and recover, can you catch it again, like a cold? Anyone know? Yes it is a rapidly mutating virus.
16
posted on
04/22/2003 11:52:21 AM PDT
by
Nov3
To: Nov3; Number_Cruncher; CathyRyan; Mother Abigail; Dog Gone; Petronski; per loin; riri; flutters; ...
Rats can apparently catch
SDA Virus repeatedly, because of its mutations.
To: aristeides
Wait until they report it can be transmitted by mosquitos and fleas. The fun will begin then!
18
posted on
04/22/2003 11:58:59 AM PDT
by
Nov3
To: Nov3
Wait until they report it can be transmitted by mosquitos and fleas. The fun will begin then! Fortunately, it appears that the SARS coronavirus is pretty much airborne transmission and transmission by waste water. But given the very high density of population in the eastern half of China and subpar sanitation facilities in much of China, I worry that SARS could end up killing millions of Chinese citizens because the conditions I just described are prefect for fast transmission of the virus. 
To: Dog Gone; CathyRyan; Mother Abigail; Petronski; per loin; riri; flutters; Judith Anne; ...
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