The World Health Organization yesterday lifted its advisory against travel to Hong Kong and Guangdong Province, saying the epidemic was under control in the two areas.

Guangdong, where the earliest SARS cases were reported, became the first place on China's mainland where the WHO ended such an advisory recommending against nonessential travel. The province reported 57 deaths and more than 1,500 cases of infection of the disease.

"I am pleased to note that due to the efforts of the local and national health authorities the outbreaks in Guangdong and Hong Kong are being contained," Gro Harlem Brundtland, the UN agency's director-general, said yesterday from Geneva, Switzerland.

The Ministry of Health announced yesterday three new SARS deaths and 20 more cases on the mainland.

Beijing accounted for two deaths and 15 cases, the Health Ministry said. The other fatality occurred in the northern province of Shanxi.

The new figures bring the mainland's death toll to 303 and the total number of infections to 5,285, the ministry said.

The WHO, citing reasons for ending its travel ban, said the average number of new cases in Guangdong has been below five for 11 days and the number of patients in hospital fell below 60 on May 20.

Numbers of new cases and hospitalized patients were similarly low in Hong Kong, the WHO said.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa welcomed yesterday's decision to lift the travel advisory.

He expressed hearty thanks to all Hong Kong people who have made great efforts during the two-month struggle against SARS.

Tung also thanked the central government for its care and support of Hong Kong's anti-SARS campaign.

He said Hong Kong will make more efforts for zero SARS infection and manage to let the WHO to take the city off the list of SARS-infected areas as early as possible. The advisory was issued on April 2.

Travel advisories are still in place for Beijing, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Tianjin and Taiwan.

(Eastday.com May 24, 2003)