Military

DATE=5/21/2003

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=ASIA SARS (L)

NUMBER=2-303463

BYLINE=KATHERINE MARIA

DATELINE=HONG KONG

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: The Philippines says it is free of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and the World Health Organization says it is safe to visit the country. As V-O-A's Katherine Maria reports, a top Chinese official expressed disappointment that the U-N agency has not removed travel advisories on parts of southern China and Hong Kong.

TEXT: The World Health Organization has taken the Philippines off the list of countries with recent locally transmitted cases of SARS.

The last local cases happened on April 30th, when a doctor and nurse caught the disease from a patient. Philippine health authorities reported a total of 12 probable cases in the country, and two deaths from SARS.

Many countries had stopped accepting Filipino migrant workers for fear of importing SARS. But a W-H-O spokesman in Manila says the Philippines has been removed from the agency's list of places with travel advisories.

W-H-O warnings to avoid unnecessary travel to Hong Kong and Guangdong Province in southern China remain in effect for the time being.

Speaking at a the World Health Assembly conference in Geneva, China's Health Minister Wu Yi said she was disappointed by the continued advisories.

/// WU ACT IN MANDARIN EST & FADE ///

Ms. Wu says Beijing will "fully promote" removing Hong Kong and Guangdong from the W-H-O's list of places considered unsafe for visitors. She also says she does not understand why the SARS-related travel advisories have not been rolled back, since new cases in both places have been kept to single digits in recent weeks.

/// OPT /// Hong Kong reported one new case Wednesday. The death toll rose by two to reach 255 people, out of more than 17-hundred cases. /// END OPT ///

The W-H-O has said that the number of SARS patients in hospitals should fall below 60 before the travel warning is removed. At least 165 SARS patients remain hospitalized in Hong Kong.

/// OPT /// China, which reported 12 new infections and two deaths, has recorded dramatic falls in the number of new infections in recent weeks. The drop raises fresh concern among W-H-O experts that some reporting methods might not be sound. /// END OPT ///

The disease, which scientists say originated in China, has killed about 300-people out of more than 52-hundred cases.

/// OPT /// Taiwan has the world's fastest growing SARS outbreak and announced 35 new cases Wednesday. The number of deaths was unchanged at 52. /// END OPT ///

Worldwide, the disease, which causes a serious pneumonia, has infected about 79-hundred people and killed 667. Most cases have been concentrated in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore. (SIGNED)

NEB/HK/KM/KPD/RAE