Singapore SARS deadline near miss

SINGAPORE (Reuters) — Singapore reported its first SARS case in 19 days on Sunday, missing by a day the World Health Organization’s target for being taken off a list of regions hit by the virus and crushing hopes the ordeal was over.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) — Singapore reported its first SARS case in 19 days on Sunday, missing by a day the World Health Organization’s target for being taken off a list of regions hit by the virus and crushing hopes the ordeal was over. A 39-year-old Malaysian man was diagnosed as Singapore’s 206th case of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) after coming down with fever on May 5 and being isolated in hospital since May 11, health officials said. Sunday was expected to be a day of celebration in the city state, where tough laws had nearly brought SARS under control after 28 deaths from the virus in three months — the world’s fourth-highest toll from the flu-like disease. Nineteen days had passed with no new infections, and the WHO had been expected to declare Singapore’s outbreak officially contained on Sunday. “I know many Singaporeans will be disappointed,” Health Minister Lim Hng Kiang told reporters. “Singapore should take this in its stride.” The hopes of residents were raised when a SARS scare at a mental health institution proved to be a false alarm after 32 patients and 13 staff, hit by sudden fever, were diagnosed on Saturday to be down with the common flu. Investors were also anxious for Singapore to be taken off the U.N. health agency’s SARS list. Singapore’s stock market had climbed in anticipation the nation would be officially declared SARS-free this week. Meeting the WHO’s target is seen as crucial for wooing back tourists, a huge industry that generates more than S$10 billion (US$5.7 billion) annually, or about five percent of Singapore’s economy. The latest SARS patient — an ethnic Chinese man from Malaysia with permanent residence status in Singapore — had travelled from Malaysia on May 5, the day he caught fever, health officials said. He is now in intensive care. “We don’t know when he was infected or where he was infected,” Khaw Boon Wan, a member of a Singapore government SARS task force, told reporters. “This will continue to happen. Cases will pop up.” The WHO says 20 days of no new cases, or two incubation periods, are needed before declaring SARS under control. Canada came off the list on Thursday and Vietnam last month. Authorities in tightly controlled Singapore have quarantined more than 3,000 people and threatened them with jail if they left home, barred visitors to hospitals, briefly closed schools and introduced widespread temperature checks. (Source:CNN, May 19, 2003 Posted: 0701 GMT ( 3:01 PM HKT))