Nine more people have died in Hong Kong after contracting the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus and 42 new cases of the illness have been reported, the government said today.
The latest victims bring the death toll in Hong Kong from SARS to 56, Deputy Director of Health Dr Leung Pak-yin told reporters.
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Commuters in Beijing wear dust masks on the metro to protect against severe acute respiratory syndrome.
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Nine is the highest number of deaths reported in a single day since the SARS epidemic erupted in Hong Kong in late February. The previous record was seven deaths yesterday, and 24 SARS patients have now died in the past four days.
The latest victims included a 45-year-old man and three women - aged 32, 34 and 37 - who had no history of illness. One of the women was pregnant.
The other victims - four men and one woman aged between 45 and 84 - all had a history of chronic illness before they were admitted to hospital with SARS, said Dr Leung.
He said 1,232 cases of SARS have now been reported in Hong Kong since the illness first emerged in the territory in late February.
But 243 people have made a full recovery and have been discharged from hospital; 127 patients remain in intensive care.
In Ireland yesterday, St James's Hospital confirmed that two patients, believed to be of Asian origin, were being treated as suspected cases "as a purely precautionary" measure. The results of blood tests will establish whether the patients have been infected.
They are still being monitored today and no determination has been made on their condition as yet.
To date, only one "probable" case has been recorded in the State; that of a man who was treated at, and subsequently discharged from, Mayo General Hospital after returning from a trip to south-east Asia.
Carried around the world by travellers after first appearing in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, the virus has infected 3,300 people and killed 144 in more than 20 countries worldwide.
After months of hiding their SARS outbreak, China's leaders started a highly publicised battle to halt the spread of the deadly bug today.
Premier Wen Jiabao called on "the whole nation" to "work closely together to win the fierce battle" against SARS, and ordered a campaign to scrub down planes, trains, buses, trucks, taxis and office blocks to kill the virus.
Fearful of a longer-term impact on Asia's fastest growing economy, Mr Wen and Communist Party boss Hu Jintao have appeared in major hospitals and met doctors on the front lines of the battle against SARS.
But the disease is spreading around China, which has ordered airports to dissuade people suspected of having SARS from boarding planes.
Singapore, with the world's fourth-highest number of cases, backed temporary wage cuts and shorter work weeks for the tourist sector. Twelve people are believed to have died from SARS.
Canadian health officials said SARS had spread to a tightly knit religious group in Toronto, with 31 probable and suspect cases. With 13 deaths, Canada is the only country outside Asia where people have died of SARS.
In one bright spot, Japan cleared all but one of its 45 suspected SARS cases.
Agencies