All eyes on Bangkok for emergency SARS summit<\/p>\n
Agencies
\nBangkok<\/p>\n
ASEAN's 10 leaders plus China's Premier Wen Jiabao will seek to
\npresent a united front to a worried world at their Tuesday summit
\nhere on the SARS virus, which continues to claim lives.<\/p>\n
Wen was to join leaders of the members of the Association of
\nSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Bangkok for the unprecedented
\nhalf-day emergency gathering to address Asia's worst crisis since
\nthe financial meltdown of 1997-1998.<\/p>\n
Tung Chee-hwa, the chief executive of Hong Kong -- one of the
\nworst affected regions -- will also take part in the Bangkok
\nsummit, it was announced on Monday.<\/p>\n
The summit is considered crucial as "it will be a forum for
\nmaking a commitment by leaders" to a common approach against the
\nspread of SARS, Supamit Chunsuttiwat of Thailand's Department of
\nDisease Control told AFP.<\/p>\n
ASEAN leaders hope to convince a spooked global community that
\nthey are taking efficient and drastic measures to contain the
\nspread of the epidemic, and are also expected to announce new
\nmeasures to coordinate their fight against the disease.<\/p>\n
"Practically, it will be a very important meeting. It will be
\na forum for endorsement for what was discussed in Malaysia,"
\nSupamit said.<\/p>\n
Health ministers from ASEAN and key partners China, Japan and
\nSouth Korea meeting in Kuala Lumpur called on Saturday for strict
\nscreening measures at all airports and other exit points to
\nprevent suspected SARS cases from traveling.<\/p>\n
Thailand's health minister said national leaders arriving for
\nthe summit will be exempt from the stringent health checks
\nimposed on travelers arriving from high-risk SARS areas including
\nChina, Hong Kong, Singapore and Vietnam.<\/p>\n
"We will exempt health checks for leaders and ministers,"
\nSudarat Keyuraphan told reporters.<\/p>\n
Other delegation members, including accompanying reporters
\nfrom China, Singapore and Hong Kong, will undergo mandatory
\nhealth checks at the airport or Thailand's foreign ministry,
\nwhere the summit is to be held.<\/p>\n
"They will have to wear masks while they are here," she said
\nof delegation members excluding ministers and leaders.<\/p>\n
SARS is wreaking havoc on ASEAN's economies, with growth
\nforecasts being steadily lowered and tourism plummeting, leaving
\nrelated industries such as aviation reeling.<\/p>\n
The global cost of SARS is already approaching US$30 billion,
\naccording to a report in the latest edition of Time magazine.<\/p>\n
In Canada, the country most affected outside Asia, where the
\ndisease originated, J.P. Morgan Securities estimates that the
\ncity of Toronto is losing $30 million a day as a result of the
\noutbreak, Time reported.<\/p>\n
With 269 of Canada's 344 possible SARS cases and all 20 of its
\ndeaths from the atypical strain of pneumonia, Toronto has borne
\nthe brunt of the country's epidemic.<\/p>\n
In Asia, where SARS has hit hardest, economists predict that
\nChina and South Korea could each lose as much as $2 billion in
\ntourism revenue, retail sales and productivity as a direct result
\nof the disease.<\/p>\n
Japan and Hong Kong stand to lose around $1 billion each,
\naccording to Time.<\/p>",
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