By Kate Saunders
The authorities in Tibet are closing the border with Nepal from tomorrow (27 April), apparently in a bid to prevent the spread of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), according to reports from Nepal and Tibet. The travel restrictions apply to tourists. Flights into Lhasa from China appear to be going ahead as normal; a new twice-weekly service from Guangdong to Lhasa is due to be launched next Wednesday (30 April) by China Southern Airlines. There are already reliable reports of occurrences of SARS in the traditional Tibetan areas of Amdo and Kham now incorporated into the Chinese provinces of Qinghai and Sichuan.
Tourists booking flights to Lhasa from Kathmandu in Nepal have been told that the border may be sealed for approximately two weeks or longer, according to instructions conveyed by the Tibet Tourism Bureau in Lhasa. The existence of SARS in Nepal has not been officially confirmed.
There have been reliable reports of cases of SARS in Xining and Golmud in Qinghai, and posters warning of the symptoms and dangers have been distributed in these areas. Rumours of four cases in Lhasa could not be confirmed, although health workers believe that if SARS does not exist in Tibet’s capital already, it is only a matter of time before it does, and the full extent of its spread may not be known due to the fragmented and inadequate provision of health care in Tibet, particularly in remote rural areas where the majority of Tibetans live.
