-Caveat Lector- Print this article | Close this window US set to curtail official trips to Asia
March 28 2003 Washington: The United States is set to curtail government visits to China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan and to warn Americans against travel there due to the outbreak of a mysterious new deadly respiratory disease, US officials said today. The restrictions on official travel and the warning to US citizens are expected to be announced by the State Department and the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) by tomorrow, they told AFP on condition of anonymity. "They should be going out within the next 24 hours," one official said. Under the new guidelines, all non-essential travel by US government employees to China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan would be suspended until further notice, the officials said. The travel warnings will also urge US citizens to defer "non-essential and recreational travel" to the four places and suggest that those already there consider leaving, the officials said. The State Department took a stronger step when it suspended all official travel to Vietnam last Friday due to the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). On Sunday, it said dependents of US diplomats there could leave at Washington's expense and advised other Americans there to consider departing. The new moves are to come after today's World Health Organisation call for the countries most affected by SARS to screen international passengers at airports for the illness which appears to have jumped from country to country with airline passengers. Numerous other countries have already issued similar warnings although the WHO has stopped short of calling for outright travel restrictions. The WHO recommended airport screening for SARS be implemented in Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Guangdong province in southern China and Canada. Sea, road and rail travellers should also be screened it said. Worldwide, at least 49 people have died and some 1,323 are reported to be afflicted with the disease. Of the deaths, at least 31 have been in Guangdong province, 11 in Hong Kong, four in Vietnam, three in Canada and two in Singapore, according to the WHO. No SARS deaths have been reported in the United States, but the CDC has recorded at least 51 cases of the disease in 21 states. The WHO says that about 90 per cent of patients showing SARS symptoms began recovering after six or seven days of onset. The remaining 10 per cent have had a more severe form of the disease, tended to be older and suffer from pre-existing illnesses such as heart diseases, and exhibited a higher mortality rate, according to the organisation. AFP This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/03/28/1048653842158.html Forwarded for your information. The text and intent of the article have to stand on their own merits. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many genera- tions. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of teachers, elders or wise men. Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all. Then accept it and live up to it." The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutra <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http://archive.jab.org/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
