Health Minister Chua Jui Meng said today that air travellers arriving from countries affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) must complete a 'health declaration card' when they arrive in Malaysia.

Those who fail to do so are liable to be punished under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Disease Act 1988.

Three questions

The card, which will be distributed in the aircraft, will require passengers to answer three questions ( see chart ) o­n their health status in connection with Sars.

The new procedure is in accordance with an advisory already issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for other countries.

It will apply to passengers arriving from areas and countries identified as 'foci countries' in the Sars outbreak - Guangdong province (China), Hong Kong, Hanoi (Vietnam), Singapore, Toronto (Canada) and Taiwan.

Passengers are required to hand the card to health personnel o­n arrival at the airport, where they will exit through a special wing. They will have to leave contact numbers and their address in Malaysia.

If suspected Sars cases slip through the surveillance net at the departure airport, then air crew have been directed to isolate them at the back of the plane. o­n arrival, the passengers involved will be sent immediately to o­ne of the dedicated hospitals for observation.

Legal question

Asked whether the ministry would also quarantine other passengers o­n flights carrying suspected Sars cases, the minister said this would not be necessary unless they too have developed the same symptoms.

When a reporter pointed out that it could take up to seven days for the symptoms to show up, Chua said: "We will screen them before they get to other places in the country."

Several reporters, who appeared dissatisfied with his response, pursued the matter. They pointed out that if, the ministry relaxed its stance, this could pose a risk to Malaysians.

Chua showed his irritation but kept his cool as he responded: "My dear friend, no system in this world is 100 percent proven (secure)."

Pressed o­n the likelihood of passengers not being honest about their health status, he said "no system is perfect...This is a legal question that we have not addressed, we will look into this."

He also said the Transport Ministry is playing the "most critical role among agencies" in handling the matter (in terms of passenger arrivals).

The health declaration card, however, will not be issued at ground transportation terminals or at the Singapore checkpoints.

Chua stressed though, that measures are in place to ensure monitoring at such entry points, with the assistance of the immigration department.

National security

Chua said there is no move to close schools - including those in Johor - for the moment, but that monitoring for Sars will continue.

Asked if it was advisable for school children to be made to wear face masks, he said the Singapore experience showed that most of those affected by the disease are adults.

Chua also said all private hospitals have been instructed to refer suspected Sars cases to dedicated hospitals in each state.

The minister claimed the incidence of the disease has " badly affected " the country in that the "economy is badly affected, tourism (arrivals have) plunged and economic activities have slowed down"

"So we must ensure that accurate information is being disseminated and stop rumour-mongering or irresponsible reporting - this is a national security matter now," he said.

He added that Home Ministry and police are monitoring the spread of rumours as well as "irresponsible media reports which publish speculation".

"We will ensure transparency in handling this issue," he said.

New suspected cases

This morning, the minister chaired a two-and-a-half hour long special national committee meeting at his office.

The committee - comprising 11 ministries and authorities - was set up to tackle Sars. As of this morning, representatives of the culture, arts and tourism ministry, Malaysia Medical Association, Private Hospitals Association and Private Medical Practitioners Association have been included in the committee.

Meanwhile, in his daily update, ministry director-general Dr Mohd Taha Arif revealed that six new suspected Sars cases were reported yesterday - three from Selangor, o­ne each in Kuala Lumpur, Perak and Kelantan - bringing the cumulative total reported to 70 since March 18.

However, the majority have since been given a clean bill of hill and discharged, currently leaving 14 under quarantine in various hospitals.

Of these, four are in Perak, three each in Sarawak and Kuala Lumpur, two in Selangor and o­ne each in Johor and Kelantan. None are in critical condition.

On the post-mortem report of the elderly man from Jerantut whose death was suspected to be linked to Sars, Mohd Taha said the ministry was still studying the findings and "hopefully can reveal it tomorrow".

Asked how long the man's family would have to remain under home quarantine, he said this would be for at least 10 days.

Chua and Mohd Taha will hold a briefing with editors o­n Monday and another briefing with members of Parliament o­n Tuesday.