The World Health Organization (WHO) will send a high-level official
to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN) special
meeting on SARS to brief the latest development of the epidemic
disease.
David Heyman, executive director for communicable diseases, will
update the regional leaders with the latest information on the
outbreak of SARS and methods of control, Thai Foreign Minister
Surakiat Sathirathai was quoted by The Nation newspaper as sayingon
Thursday.
The ASEAN special meeting on SARS is scheduled to be held on April
29 in Bangkok and aimed at drawing up collective measures to fight
the disease.
Leaders and ministers arriving for the special summit will be
exempt from health screening for the virus, said Thai Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Thursday.
But lower-ranking delegates will still be checked and have to
follow self-surveillance measures as usual, according to the prime
minister.
(Xinhua News Agency April 25, 2003)