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CNN Live At Daybreak

Spread of SARS

Aired April 21, 2003 - 06:33   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: In the battle against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, the World Health Organization reports more than 3,500 confirmed cases of SARS and 182 deaths worldwide. Hong Kong is reporting its highest number of deaths from SARS in one 24-hour period.
CNN's Andrew Brown joins us live from Hong Kong with more.

Good morning -- Andrew.

ANDREW BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

What we're really watching here is a story that's unfolding in Singapore, which is a few thousand kilometers south of Hong Kong. What we're hearing is that 2,500 people there are being quarantined. These are people who worked in a wholesale vegetable market, and that market has been linked to three SARS cases.

The significance of this is the Singapore government has said that previously the disease had been limited to health care workers, and now it seems that it may actually have gone out into the community.

Whatever happens, this certainly won't be any help for an economy that's already in trouble.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN (voice-over): Wednesday evening at Singapore's Le Meridian, and the piano player is performing another solo, quite literally. He's just about the only person in the lobby. This downtown hotel has never experienced occupancy this low. Only 30 percent of rooms are sold. The break-even point is around 50 percent, so it's no wonder the management has been cutting costs.

RUDDLE BORGEIUS, LE MERIDIEN GENERAL MANAGER: We don't have any more new recruits, no overtime. We just ended a five-day work week. Normally, people work in Singapore six days in the hotel business, so it's five days. And with these measures, we should be able to cut down our losses.

BROWN: It's the same story all over town. SARS has depressed tourism, leaving many hotels and retailers without customers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Business is very bad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's down by almost 80 percent. BROWN: The government has predicted SARS will shave a half to one-percentage point off annual growth.

The good news is, analysts say that they don't see Singapore's electronics manufacturers being strongly affected by SARS, since buyers will continue to source chips and other components from here. The bad news is, these manufacturers are mainly supplying U.S. tech companies, which, according to some experts, are still in a fragile state.

V. ANANTHA NAGESWARAN, CREDIT SUISSE: Despite the results that we have seen in the last couple of days in Microsoft or Intel, both top-line and bottom-line growth still looks very sluggish, to put it mildly.

BROWN: While some Singaporean businesses may be racing into the red, Lee Juan Tsao is upbeat about his prospects. Each day, he is paying 12 percent less for the taxi he drives around town, part of a special SARS discount.

LEE JUAN TSAO, TAXI DRIVER: Our company reduced our rental. You see, yes, this is how the company looks into the welfare of taxi drivers.

BROWN: Mr. Lee regularly disinfects his taxi, but it will take more than a clean machine to get the Singapore economy firing on all cylinders again.

With new SARS cases reported each day, many people are staying away from bars and restaurants to reduce the risk of infection. Apparently, they're being productive in other ways.

DR. WEI STANG YU, SINGAPORE: If the couples, the husbands and wives, are spending more time together, I think it's about time for procreation.

BROWN: Love in the time of SARS is blossoming.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Some demographers are actually predicting a SARS-related baby boom -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Oh, I don't mean to laugh, but it just sounds so strange. Thank you for bringing a smile to our faces over such a serious story.

Andrew Brown reporting live from Hong Kong this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired April 21, 2003 - 06:33   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: In the battle against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, the World Health Organization reports more than 3,500 confirmed cases of SARS and 182 deaths worldwide. Hong Kong is reporting its highest number of deaths from SARS in one 24-hour period.
CNN's Andrew Brown joins us live from Hong Kong with more.

Good morning -- Andrew.

ANDREW BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

What we're really watching here is a story that's unfolding in Singapore, which is a few thousand kilometers south of Hong Kong. What we're hearing is that 2,500 people there are being quarantined. These are people who worked in a wholesale vegetable market, and that market has been linked to three SARS cases.

The significance of this is the Singapore government has said that previously the disease had been limited to health care workers, and now it seems that it may actually have gone out into the community.

Whatever happens, this certainly won't be any help for an economy that's already in trouble.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN (voice-over): Wednesday evening at Singapore's Le Meridian, and the piano player is performing another solo, quite literally. He's just about the only person in the lobby. This downtown hotel has never experienced occupancy this low. Only 30 percent of rooms are sold. The break-even point is around 50 percent, so it's no wonder the management has been cutting costs.

RUDDLE BORGEIUS, LE MERIDIEN GENERAL MANAGER: We don't have any more new recruits, no overtime. We just ended a five-day work week. Normally, people work in Singapore six days in the hotel business, so it's five days. And with these measures, we should be able to cut down our losses.

BROWN: It's the same story all over town. SARS has depressed tourism, leaving many hotels and retailers without customers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Business is very bad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's down by almost 80 percent. BROWN: The government has predicted SARS will shave a half to one-percentage point off annual growth.

The good news is, analysts say that they don't see Singapore's electronics manufacturers being strongly affected by SARS, since buyers will continue to source chips and other components from here. The bad news is, these manufacturers are mainly supplying U.S. tech companies, which, according to some experts, are still in a fragile state.

V. ANANTHA NAGESWARAN, CREDIT SUISSE: Despite the results that we have seen in the last couple of days in Microsoft or Intel, both top-line and bottom-line growth still looks very sluggish, to put it mildly.

BROWN: While some Singaporean businesses may be racing into the red, Lee Juan Tsao is upbeat about his prospects. Each day, he is paying 12 percent less for the taxi he drives around town, part of a special SARS discount.

LEE JUAN TSAO, TAXI DRIVER: Our company reduced our rental. You see, yes, this is how the company looks into the welfare of taxi drivers.

BROWN: Mr. Lee regularly disinfects his taxi, but it will take more than a clean machine to get the Singapore economy firing on all cylinders again.

With new SARS cases reported each day, many people are staying away from bars and restaurants to reduce the risk of infection. Apparently, they're being productive in other ways.

DR. WEI STANG YU, SINGAPORE: If the couples, the husbands and wives, are spending more time together, I think it's about time for procreation.

BROWN: Love in the time of SARS is blossoming.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Some demographers are actually predicting a SARS-related baby boom -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Oh, I don't mean to laugh, but it just sounds so strange. Thank you for bringing a smile to our faces over such a serious story.

Andrew Brown reporting live from Hong Kong this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.