China on Holiday SARS Alert at Airports, Stations

BEIJING (Reuters) - Airports and rail stations across China checked the temperatures of passengers from Beijing and eastern Anhui province for SARS (news - web sites) after confirmation on Friday of a fifth case as the week-long May Day holiday approaches.

The Health Ministry said a suspected SARS patient surnamed Wei, who died in eastern Anhui on April 19, was confirmed to have had the disease.

But no new cases had been reported in the 24 hours to 10 a.m. on Friday (10 p.m. EDT Thursday), the ministry said.

So far, the ministry has announced five diagnosed and four suspected cases of the highly contagious and flu-like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in Beijing and Anhui in recent weeks. Wei was the mother of another confirmed case, it said.