Six More in Asia Die of SARS; Officials Fear Economic Effect

Six more people died in Asia from severe acute respiratory syndrome as authorities stepped up their efforts Saturday to contain the illness.

In Singapore, where the prime minister has repeatedly warned of the economic effect from SARS, the government issued its first electronic wrist tags to people under quarantine. An alarm sounds and an alert is issued to a monitoring station if a person breaks the tag or leaves the house.

Singapore has 558 people under home quarantine. Nine people have died there and 147 have been sickened by the disease.

SARS has killed at least 122 people and sickened more than 2,700 in 20 countries. The illness has no known cure.

Two more people died in mainland China, raising the death toll there to 60. The official New China News Agency said the two deaths Friday were among 10 cases of SARS reported in Inner Mongolia.

Hong Kong authorities on Saturday said three more people died, while officials in Vietnam said a 69-year-old French doctor succumbed to the illness, bringing the death toll there to five.

Authorities throughout Asia were trying to stop the disease from taking a further toll on their economies. Foreign buyers, uneasy about SARS, were canceling plans to attend China’s biggest trade fair this month in the southern city of Guangzhou in Guangdong, where the disease is believed to have originated.