China's students go back to school as SARS cases drop

BEIJING -- With numbers of new SARS cases dropping, China's capital prepared Wednesday to send some students back to class, as gridlock -- and an increasing sense of normalcy -- returned to Beijing's streets.\nAmid the mostly positive news for China, the World Health Organization warned of the possibility of new outbreaks during China's rainy season as overloaded sewage systems overflow, possibly carrying the virus in feces, where it can survive for days.\n"We see this as a potential threat, something to beware of," said spokesman Bob Dietz. "SARS could rear up again."\nBut while numbers of new cases were dropping off elsewhere, Taiwan's outbreak remained severe with another 35 cases announced Wednesday. WHO extended its SARS travel warning to all of Taiwan, not just the capital Taipei, as Taiwanese health officials warned of a spike in cases in the island's south.\nChina's Health Ministry announced two new deaths from severe acute respiratory syndrome, both in Beijing, and 12 cases of infection -- down sharply from the beginning of the month when the nation was reporting 150 new cases a day. The new figures bring the mainland's death toll to 296 and the total number of infections to 5,249, the ministry said.\nChinese Premier Wen Jiabao said the threat from SARS "had been stabilizing," but warned against "excessive optimism and letting down one's guard," the official Xinhua News Agency reported.\n"The situation of SARS prevention and treatment remains serious and the fight is still arduous," Wen was quoted as telling a meeting of the State Council, China's cabinet.\nBeijing will begin readmitting students to classes Thursday, beginning with those preparing to take university entrance tests. Classes for younger students are to resume in batches while some schools are to stay closed longer, holding classes by Internet or on television.\nBeijing closed its public schools April 24, sending home 1.7 million students amid anti-disease measures that also shut down entertainment outlets and imposed restrictions on travel between provinces.\nBeijing's karaoke parlors, cinemas and Internet cafes, all ordered closed by the authorities, remained shuttered Wednesday. Officials haven't said when restrictions might be lifted.\nHeavy traffic has returned to Beijing streets left nearly deserted two weeks ago as SARS cases peaked in the capital. Fewer people were wearing face masks and some restaurants and bars began reopening as fears of the outbreak receded and customers returned.\nLeaving nothing to chance, Chinese President Hu Jintao was undergoing medical checkups to ensure he is free of SARS when he meets G-8 leaders next month in France.\nHu's anti-SARS preparations before meeting President Bush and other G-8 leaders in the Alpine town of Evian included regular chest X-rays and twice-daily fever checks, Vice Foreign Minister Liu Guchang said at a news conference.\nHu and members of his delegation also have been limiting their visitors under measures aimed at ensuring "there will be no one in our delegation with SARS," Liu said.\nHu, who will be making his first foreign trip as China's leader, is to take part in a development conference held on the sidelines of the June 1-3 meeting. Others at the meeting include the leaders of France, Germany, Japan, Britain, Canada, Italy and Russia.\nAlso Wednesday, police in the city of Tanghe in Henan province said 39 people are in quarantine after they had contact with a man infected with SARS who is accused of fleeing a hospital there.\nThe man has been detained on charges of violating quarantine, said a police official in Tanghe who gave only his surname, Cheng. China has threatened long prison terms or possible execution for people who cause death or serious injury by knowingly spreading the virus.\nHong Kong reported two more deaths from SARS -- both people in their 80s who had other illnesses -- and just one new case. SARS has infected 1,719 people in Hong Kong and killed 255, but the number of new cases has been in the single digits for 18 consecutive days.\nSingapore recorded one more death to bring its total to 29 from 206 infected with the virus.\nAbout 50 Singaporeans who survived the disease gathered at a hospital to relate their experiences and try to reassure fellow citizens who might still regard them as contagious.\nAshirdahwani Asmawi, a 24-year-old nurse, told how the flu-like lung infection left her choking and breathless.\n"I saw my hands, my nailbeds and my toes turning blue (from lack of oxygen)," Asmawi said. "I was panting always and felt as though I (was) drowning. ... It was really frightening"