Beijing taken off Sars list

PHUKET: Following the World Health Organization’s declaration that Beijing has been removed from its list of Sars-affected places, Thailand has dropped its requirement for people arriving from China’s capital to submit to medical checks or other restrictions while in Thailand. Weerasit Raden, Chief of the Port Health Office at Phuket International Airport today said, “After it was announced that Beijing had been removed from the WHO’s Sars-alert list, it was also removed from Thailand’s list of Sars-risk countries,” he said. He noted, however, that people arriving from Shanghai, Taiwan or Toronto are still subject to medical checks on arrival and must either submit to further health checks or must wear a mask during the first week of their stay in Thailand. To be taken off the WHO Sars-alert list, countries or cities must show that they have had no Sars cases admitted to hospital for 20 straight days. The Taipei Times yesterday reported that the Director-General of Taiwan’s Department of Health, Chen Chien-jen, expected Taiwan to be dropped from the list around July 5 provided there were no new infections in the next two weeks.