ASEAN to enforce health checks at ports

ASEAN to enforce health checks at ports

Michael Mathes, Agence France-Presse, Bangkok

Southeast Asian leaders agreed here on Tuesday to join forces to
fight the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus,
by working toward pre-departure and arrival health screening for
travelers within the region.

In a joint declaration, leaders of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed to direct their health and
other ministers to "work to take rigorous measures for
immigration and customs control to prevent the spread of SARS, by
implementing pre-departure and arrival screening and better
flight management".

ASEAN leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to keep
economies and borders open," while they also agreed to establish
a ministerial-level joint task force to implement the decisions
made at the meeting.

ASEAN and China's leaders held an unprecedented emergency
summit here on Tuesday to address the SARS crisis, Asia's worst
crisis since the financial meltdown of 1997-1998.

"They were fruitful discussions on measures to strengthen
cooperation and determine steps (to control SARS)," Cambodian
Prime Minister Hun Sen, who chaired the meeting, said of the
talks.

ASEAN and China leaders pledged to exchange information on
SARS, carry out cooperative research and training programs on the
disease, and jointly sponsor a high-level international symposium
on SARS control and treatment in China, as soon as possible.

They also agreed to "sponsor a special symposium to assess the
political, security, economic and other possible impacts of SARS
on the region and come up with regional counter-measures to
address the impacts".

ASEAN and China furthermore announced the establishment of a
fund for China-ASEAN cooperation programs aimed at controlling
SARS, to which China has pledged US$1.2 million.

Leaders expressed confidence in their ability to combat the
crisis.

"If Vietnam can do it, Hong Kong, with its resources,
Singapore with the resources it's put in, and China, with its
will, the resources and organization, can ... begin to eradicate
it," Singapore's Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong told reporters.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, however, warned China still faced
an uphill battle.

"China's situation in terms of SARS is still grave," he said.

"There is a surge in the number of reported cases. The
epidemic is beginning to spread to other regions. There is a need
for us to recognize the fact that SARS is going to be a long-term
and reoccurring epidemic," he said.

Wen said the country was taking "decisive" measures to tackle
the outbreak, by dispatching 31 inspection teams, implementing a
system of reporting the epidemic and providing adequate medical
treatment.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China
were hoping to convince a spooked world they are taking efficient
measures to contain the spread of the disease, and bring back
confidence to the region.

The panic surrounding SARS has left tourism and travel
industries reeling, with the social impact also mounting,
particularly in China, where cases have not yet peaked, according
to the World Health Organization (WHO).

ASEAN leaders met together earlier on Tuesday and were briefed
by the WHO before later being joined by the Chinese delegation.

The WHO later called on China to begin screening departing
passengers from its airports.

"It's extremely important that China introduce screening at
their airports and it has been recommended they do this," he
said.

China, which initially attempted to cover up the outbreak last
November in southern Guangdong province, has reported 148 deaths
and more than 3,300 cases.

Globally, more than 350 people have died as a result of the
virus, for which there is no cure or vaccine, while more than
5,600 people have been infected, most of them in Asia.

The ASEAN-plus China session was the first meeting between
Wen, who took office in March, and the leaders of ASEAN members
Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

More than half of ASEAN members have reported SARS deaths:
Singapore (22), Vietnam (5), Malaysia (2), Philippines (2)
Thailand (2) and Indonesia (1).