Kazakh Prime Minister during a government session on 29 April ordered that a special program of urgent measures be drawn up to prevent the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome

Kazakh Prime Minister Imanghaliy Tasmaghambetov during a government session on 29 April ordered that a special program of urgent measures be drawn up to prevent the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Implementation of the program, which is supposed to specify each step to be taken and indicate the financial resources needed, should begin next week, the report said. Health Minister Zhaksylyk Doskaliev told the cabinet that no SARS cases have been recorded in Kazakhstan, but he was quoted as saying "the probability of the infection being brought from China to Kazakhstan remains high." Meanwhile, 47 Kazakh students who have returned to Aqtobe from universities in China that have been quarantined have been sent to a summer camp outside the town for medical examinations. The students were requested by the parents of the students, some of whom were found to have other illnesses, although none showed symptoms of SARS. Nonetheless, they must remain in quarantine for one week.