Panama second country to ban HK travellers
Saturday, April 12, 2003
hongkong.scmp.com
CHEUNG CHI-FAI
Panama will temporarily bar Chinese nationals to stop the spread of Sars, making it the second country to do so.
Malaysia has already banned travellers from Hong Kong and the mainland. Hongkongers now have to apply for visas but in most cases they will not be granted.
Panama's immigration director, Ilka Bares, said the move was needed to keep the virus out of the country.
Panama has about 200,000 Chinese immigrants. It already has increased surveillance at airports, ports and land crossings.
No Sars cases have been reported in Panama or other central American countries.
In Asia, Indonesia and the Philippines both reported a suspected case of Sars yesterday.
The Philippines case involves a man who has frequently travelled between Hong Kong and the Philippines.
In Malaysia, 13 crew members of the Superstar Virgo cruiser, owned by Star Cruises, were isolated after one of them was suspected of contracting the virus.
The suspected victim is an Indian woman, 26. She fell ill on March 30 after the ship left Singapore for Phuket in Thailand via the island resort of Langkawi.
The Singapore government said yesterday another crew member had been admitted to hospital on Wednesday.
The Malaysian health authority is tracing passengers but none is believed to have signs of illness.
There have been four reported suspected Sars cases and one death in Malaysia.
In Singapore, the health authority has adopted tighter measures to ensure people do not flout mandatory quarantine orders.
Web cameras will be placed in quarantine homes and electronic wrist tags will be attached to people who violate the isolation order.
The authority said at least 12 people have been caught flouting the orders, despite the threat of hefty fines and a jail sentence.
"Basically, our approach is we trust Singaporeans to work with us, but unfortunately there are a few cases who did not conform so we have to tightened up the system," Health Minister Lim Hng Kiang said on Thursday.
About 490 people are under home quarantine in Singapore, down from the peak of about 1,500.
Worldwide, the infection number is more than 3,000 and at least 113 people have died. |
