The Chinese government sacked its health minister and another senior official yesterday in an attempt to establish credibility for its handling of the SARS health crisis as the death toll continued to mount.
Officials also conceded that the problem in Beijing was nearly 10 times worse than had been admitted, and ordered the cancellation of the week-long May Day holiday in an effort to halt the spread of infection from SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome).
More than 200 people in seven countries have died, while 3,800 have been infected worldwide.
China's deputy health minister, Mr Gao Qiang, said yesterday that the correct number of SARS cases in Beijing was 339, not 37, and added that there were more than 400 suspected cases in the capital.
The new numbers raise the cumulative total in China, not counting Hong Kong, to 1,807, including 79 deaths.
But two-thirds of Chinese provinces have not reported a single case, despite the speed at which SARS has appeared in other parts of the world.
The ruling central committee yesterday removed the health minister, Mr Zhang Wenkang, who had insisted the crisis was "under control", and the Beijing mayor, Mr Meng Xuenong, from their Communist Party positions, essentially sacking them from their jobs.
Several boarding schools in Britain are insisting that pupils returning from affected parts of Asia undergo 10 days of quarantine.
Meanwhile, a Department of Health expert group on SARS will meet tomorrow to discuss the Irish response to the pandemic. On the agenda will be the Special Olympics. - (Guardian Service)