SARS Keep Librarians Out Of Brunei

Bandar Seri Begawan – The 12th South East Asian Librarian Congress (CONSAL) scheduled today in the sultanate has been postponed.

The Language and Literature Bureau said the postponement of the congress is caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in the region.

Meanwhile Malaysia has expressed concern over screening measures for Sars at its land border with Singapore as it reported another suspected case of the disease apparently contracted in the island-state.

The Health Ministry says screening at the causeway and a second link in Southern Johor state bordering Singapore was a major "headache" as some 100,000 people travel through the areas daily.

Both countries last month set up a joint border health committee to tighten controls at entry points but officials say it is almost impossible to screen every traveller.

In Singapore, officials say the majority of the country's Sars victims were infected in hospitals and not in the community, and the city-state's strict policies are necessary to contain the virus until a vaccine is found.

Meanwhile Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has called on other governments in Asia to cooperate in the battle against Sars.

Speaking at a conference in Manila, President Arroyo urged everybody to unite in facing the threat of Sars.

President Arroyo on Friday had said her government was “doing everything to overcome the crisis” and urged all to cooperate to help prevent the spread of the virus.

China has agreed to have the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) expert visit Taiwan to study the Sars outbreak, ending political stalemate that the island said threatened to damage disease-fighting efforts.

The announcement reversed China’s earlier rejection of direct WHO help from Taiwan.

Taiwanese health authorities have complained that the WHO failed to respond to their requests for help with Sars which has killed eight people there.

Legislators on yesterday approved an emergency anti-Sars fund of $1.4 billion.

China itself reported eleven new Sars fatalities on Friday raising the mainland's death toll to 181 and pushing the worldwide toll past 430.

Officials in Beijing said the Chinese capital would continue to see a high number of Sars cases "for some time."

City authorities yesterday posed restrictions on university students and migrant workers leaving Beijing, including mandatory health checks and barring them from going to rural or Sars-affected areas.

China has reportedly banned foreign tourists from Tibet and other western regions of the country as part of efforts to stop the spread of Sars.

There have been hopes for a slowdown in Sars cases in the past week in Hong Kong – only 10 new cases were reported on today -- signalling the outbreak in the city had stabilised.

Many foreign residents now feel safe enough to visit the crowded bars and restaurants without wearing surgical masks.  -- Courtesy of Radio Television Brunei

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