Asia appeared to be moving ever closer to victory over SARS tonight but experts warned that no country in the world could drop its guard against the disease.
China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, all badly-hit by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome which has globally claimed almost 800 lives, recorded sustained lows in deaths and infections, while Canada began easing quarantine measures.
Declaring its second day with no new SARS cases this week, China trumpeted success in meeting the disease head-on, insisting frequently queried figures were genuine and its efforts were second to none.
The total number of people known to be infected in China remains at 5,329 with 334 fatalities, the health ministry said Wednesday.
However, experts at an international health conference warned that despite the apparent decline in cases, not enough was known about the disease to allow health authorities to become complacent.
Hong Kong also appeared to be holding steady against the illness, with one new infection and no new deaths.
And in Canada, the only country outside Asia to report SARS-related deaths, the second outbreak in Toronto appeared to be tailing off.
Ontario's commissioner of public security, James Young, said that health officials saw a peak in new SARS cases over the weekend.
"We expect that we will see some more cases in the next few days," as the outbreak continues on a downward slope, he told reporters Tuesday.
Ontario, whose capital is Toronto, reported 64 probable SARS cases Tuesday, up two from Monday.
Some 5,200 people in Ontario remain in quarantine, down from a high of 7,000, as more health care workers returned to their jobs.
Donald Low, chief microbiologist at Mount Sinai Hospital, said he expects the number of new SARS cases to drop to zero over the next couple of days.
Meanwhile, German authorities reported a new probable SARS case bringing the country's toll to 10, a spokeswoman for the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases said.
AFP