<a href=www.upi.com>UPI From the Science & Technology Desk Published 4/7/2003 12:39 AM

SINGAPORE, April 7 (UPI) -- Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong has established a ministerial level committee to coordinate the overall strategy to deal with the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in Singapore.

"The problem of SARS goes beyond one ministry. The government is taking this very seriously and has formed the Ministerial Committee because the problem has gone beyond a medical one," Minister for Home Affairs Wong Kan Seng said.

The work of the committee, headed by Wong, will complement the work done by an executive group of senior civil servants who started looking into the SARS problems when the first cases surfaced last month in Singapore.

"The ministerial committee is taking a comprehensive look at the impact of SARS on every aspect of the economy and society. Hence, scenarios and plans are being developed for many sectors like transport, government, business, tourism, and education," Wong said.

NZZ April 7, 2003, 18:15

Switzerland is stepping up diplomatic efforts to repair its business relations with Hong Kong. A row between the trading partners erupted after Switzerland banned Hong Kong from a major international watch fair due to fears about a deadly pneumonia virus.

Switzerland said the ban on salespeople from Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Vietnam, was intended to prevent the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or Sars, which has so far killed at least 80 people worldwide.

But the move sparked outrage from the countries affected, with Hong Kong pulling out of the fair altogether to protest the ban.

Damage

The Swiss Business Federation has voiced concern that trade ties with Asian countries, and Hong Kong especially, could be seriously damaged as a result of the row.

Presence Switzerland, the organisation responsible for promoting Switzerland's image abroad, has been working to counteract the fallout from the ban.

"The most important thing to avoid is long-lasting damage," Johannes Matyassy of Presence Switzerland, told swissinfo.

"For us it's important to inform the authorities in Hong Kong, the media and once again to talk to the business community in Hong Kong who were put in a really difficult situation here in Switzerland," he said.

Diplomacy

Matyassy says that diplomacy alone won't be enough to repair relations.

He says joint efforts from the parties involved - such as the foreign, health and economy ministries and the business community - are needed if confidence is to be re-established between the partners.

But Matyassy also defended Switzerland's stance on Sars, saying the World Health Organization had already issued a recommendation against non-essential travel to Hong Kong.

"Other countries have already taken measures that were stricter than ours. So Switzerland is not the first country to undertake such a step," Matyassy added.

Understanding

Matyassy said that the Hong Kong authorities understood why Switzerland took the security measures.

"In such a situation the health of the population has the biggest priority," he said. "That's why Switzerland had to act very quickly and in a decisive manner."

The Swiss Federal Health Office has advised its nationals against travelling to Hong Kong and the Guangdong province in southern China.

After China, Hong Kong is one of the worst affected areas with 800 reported cases and 20 deaths from the virus.

swissinfo, Vanessa Mock and Isobel Johnson

news.com.au April 07, 2003

A NINE-year-old boy has been admitted to hospital with symptoms of the SARS virus after a recent visit to Hong Kong, the NSW Health Department said today. But a spokeswoman for the department said the boy's condition was improving and it didn't appear likely he was suffering the disease.

The deadly respiratory disease SARS became subject to Australia's most stringent quarantine laws today as airports around the country continued to stop and check suspect incoming passengers.

One hundred people have been killed worldwide since the deadly disease was first detected.

"A nine-year-old boy became sick in early April within ten days of returning from Hong Kong," the spokeswoman said.

News.com.au April 07, 2003

CATHAY Pacific has cut back on its Melbourne to Hong Kong flights because of dramatically reduced passenger numbers during the SARS scare. Airline spokesman David Bell said the number of flights had been dropped from 11 to seven a week.

"All we know is passenger numbers have dropped quite dramatically on the route," he said.

"Certainly SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) is having a major impact, but it is also possible there is some impact from the war on Iraq.

"It is difficult to know exactly which is which."

News.com.au April 07, 2003

A 78-year-old woman has died of a mystery flu-like disease in Hong Kong, becoming the 100th victim worldwide, officials said. The woman died last night and brought Hong Kong's death toll to 23, the Health Department said in a statement.

Hong Kong counted another 41 cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, as of late today, bringing its total to 883.

Officials said 127 of the patients had recovered and were discharged from hospitals, while the majority of those still in the hospital are responding favourably to treatment.

Other deaths have occurred in mainland China, Canada, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia.