New Sars travel alert

Sars 'brought into the provinces by migrant workers'

A new alert has been issued against non-essential travel to the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, and two more areas of China as alarm grows over the spread of Sars.

The alert was issued by the World Health Organization as the number of confirmed deaths worldwide from Sars (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) passed 500.

The Russian authorities have meanwhile suspended ticket sales on all flights to mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan to prevent the spread of the disease.

The move came as reports emerged of a possible first case of Sars in Russia.

In other developments:

• China - the worst affected country - reports six new deaths on Thursday, including the first fatality in the city of Shanghai, bringing the total to 225

• WHO officials begin investigations in the Chinese province of Hebei, after the number of cases there double in a week.

• In Hong Kong, the number of deaths now stands at 208 after four elderly women die from the illness

• China sacks or penalises more than 120 officials for their "slack" response to the Sars outbreak, state media reports

• Chinese basketball star Yao Ming says he plans to host a telethon on Sunday in his hometown, Shanghai, to raise money for research into Sars

Suspected Russian case

The WHO has advised that travellers should exercise a "measure of precaution" before travelling to the city of Tianjin or to Inner Mongolia.

SARS WORLDWIDE

Known death tolls:

World: 812

Mainland China: 348

Hong Kong: 298

Taiwan: 84

Singapore: 32

Canada: 38

Source: WHO/local authorities

Global update

It has already advised against non-essential travel to Hong Kong, Beijing and China's Guangdong and Shanxi provinces.

A similar alert issued for the Canadian city of Toronto was lifted after WHO officials decided the outbreak had been contained there.

In Russia, the country's prime minister, Mikhail Kasyanov, is to chair an urgent meeting on Thursday to decide how to prevent Sars spreading into the country, which shares a lengthy border with China.

Earlier, a health official was quoted as saying that Russia had its first case of the Sars virus, although the Health Ministry said that laboratory tests had not yet confirmed the diagnosis.

In addition to suspending flight reservations, the Russian Civil Aviation Authority has also said that no new transactions should be accepted for passengers or cargo containers on flights to China, and has warned airlines to prepare for a complete ban on air links.

Rural epidemic fears

WHO officials travelled to the Chinese province of Hebei on Thursday on a mission aimed at preventing the spread of the deadly virus into rural areas.

Officials believe Sars has been carried into the province by migrant workers who fled Beijing after news of the epidemic in the capital became public two weeks ago.

Health workers fear that a major outbreak in such densely populated rural areas would be a catastrophe, because rural hospitals are so poorly equipped.

Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has warned that China's rural health care system is incapable of dealing with a major outbreak of the virus.

"At present there has not been a large epidemic in the rural areas, but we must be on high alert. Neglecting prevention work in the rural regions will not be tolerated," official media quoted him as saying.

China's cabinet has meanwhile announced a series of measures aimed at minimising the economic impact of Sars.

The state-run news agency Xinhua said the government had issued orders to local officials to ensure that crops were harvested and measures were taken to bolster tourism.

But closed roads are making it difficult for suppliers to get goods to market, and shops and restaurants remain empty as both locals and foreigners shun public areas for fear of infection.

The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, in Beijing, says that, although the government is calling on local officials to take steps to ensure the economy keeps growing, the very measures being put in to try and prevent the spread of the virus are the ones making economic activity increasingly difficult.