China Sacks Minister Over Sars

China's health minister, Zhang Wenkang, and Beijing's mayor have both been sacked over the outbreak of Sars, official news agency reports said today, while seven more deaths from the virus were announced in Hong Kong.

Earlier, China cancelled one of its biggest celebrations, May's weeklong international workers' holiday, over fears of Sars spreading further.

The new deaths pushed the toll in Hong Kong to 88 and 79 on the mainland, the government said. The news followed yesterday's announcement of 12 fatalities, which was the highest number in a single day since the start of the severe acute respiratory syndrome crisis.

The latest fatalities included an 88-year-old man and two elderly women with chronic illnesses, an official statement said, but they also included four younger people aged between 35 and 47, fuelling rising fears that the virus is more lethal than originally believed.

Explaining the decision to cancel the workers' holiday, which starts on May day, Gao Qiang, an executive vice health minister, told reporters: "The purpose of such an act is to prevent the massive movement of people and the possible spread of the disease."

Gao acknowledged that the advisory could deal a big blow to China's economy. The long holiday usually boosts the economy with a wave of domestic spending.

"I'm sure this measure will mean massive losses in tourism revenue, but people's lives and health had to be put above everything," Gao said.

The health ministry also issued a special advisory to university students, urging them not to travel during the holiday.

China has been accused of covering up Sars cases, and the nation's top leaders have recently begun demanding timely and honest reporting from local officials.

Gao acknowledged that there have been problems. "The ministry of health was not well prepared against an outbreak of a public health threat," he said. "It has not given out clear instructions or effective guidance".

However, Gao denied reports that Sars cases were intentionally hidden from investigators. "We have not discovered any locality or place that has intentionally hidden these statistics," he said. "Any such act will be severely punished."

The illness eventually identified as Sars was first reported in southern China's Guangdong province in November.

China has reported an alarming increase in Sars cases, saying that the number of infections in Beijing has soared to 339 - a near tenfold increase.

Sars has killed at least 205 people worldwide, out of more than 3,800 infected. Hong Kong has reported 88 deaths, mainland China 79 deaths, followed by 16 in Singapore, 14 in Canada, five in Vietnam, two in Thailand and one in Malaysia.

China's total number of cases has risen to 1,807. "With such a situation, with more than 300 patients in Beijing, the situation is already very serious," Gao said, adding that there were 400 more suspected cases in the capital.

He said most of the Beijing patients were hospitalised at the end of March or the beginning of April. He said seven new cases were reported yesterday and have not been included in the official total yet.

No cure for Sars has been found, although health officials say most sufferers recover with timely hospital care. Symptoms include high fever, aches, dry cough and breathing difficulties.