Hong Kong: Raising fears that the crisis may be worse than previously thought, a senior Chinese physician on April 9 accused his government of covering up details about the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Beijing, as other parts of Asia nervously invoked extra precautions to contain the disease.

The doctor estimated the outbreak in the Chinese capital might be five times greater than officially admitted.

An American teacher who became ill with SARS was driven on April 9 across China's border to Hong Kong, where he was pronounced dead in a hospital, officials said.

Hong Kong had earlier reported two more deaths - bringing the number of fatalities here to 27 - and 42 new cases, for a total of 970.