Thailand is preparing to join with the nine other members of the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to pronounce the regional grouping to be free
of SARS, according to a report of TV Channel 9 on Friday.
Speaking during a meeting on public health cooperation between Thailand and
Malaysia held in the southern resort island of Phuketon Thursday, Public Health
Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan said that the declaration would be made during the
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Phuket at the end of this
month.
There have been no reported cases of SARS in the ASEAN region for the past 20
days, which, under World Health Organization (WHO)criteria, allows ASEAN to
declare itself to be a SARS-free zone.
Sudarat said that both she and her Malaysian counterpart were aware that
tourists were still concerned about the possibility of a SARS outbreak in
Myanmar, Cambodia, the Philippines and Laos despite the fact that none of these
countries had reported any SARS cases.
The declaration during the APEC meeting would assure international visitors
that they did not have to worry about travelling to the region, she said, adding
that the announcement would give a lift to tourism and the economy, both within
Thailand and in the region as a whole.
