Hong Kong, Apr 08: New cases of a mystery flu-like illness may be declining in the southern china province of Guangdong, but the disease has shown a steady rise in Hong Kong and some experts said today they fear things might get worse before they get better. Hong Kong has been reporting double-digit increases daily in the numbers of people infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS. Hospitals braced for a worst-case scenario of 3,000 patients, about four times the current number, by the end of the month.
"It's looking like it's going to be a long, long, drawn -out battle," said Dr Gavin Joynt, director of the intensive care unit at the hard-hit Prince of Wales Hospital. "We don't know where the end is going to be. One of the major stresses that we are dealing with is not knowing where this is going to go."
Thailand's prime minister warned today that SARS is sowing mistrust among Asian countries and hampering economic recovery by choking off regional tourism. Thailand, with 11 suspected cases of SARS and two deaths, has imposed strict containment measures including a 14-day stay-at-home quarantine for Thais returning from affected areas.
A leading Australian economist, Huw Mckay at Westpac bank, predicted today that SARS could knock 1 percentage point off growth rates in southeast Asia.
Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, who canceled a trip to China because of the outbreak there, estimated during a visit today to India that the effect on growth "would be anywhere between half a per cent and 1 per cent for the economies of China, Hong Kong, Singapore and the others who are affected." Bureau Report