The Dangers of the SARS Virus

The Stuttgarter Zeitung says it's high time for the American postwar administrator, Jay Garner, to make his presence known in Baghdad. Already, Iraqi politicians are scrambling to fill the power vacuum, the paper writes, but adds: The urgent need for an effective government should be subordinate to the question of what role the United Nations should play. In no way should a continuation of the pre-war split in the Security Council now lead to a stalling of the reconstruction process.

The Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung thinks that Garner has come to Baghdad far too late. It comments: The leader of the postwar administration should have shown his concern
for the fate of the civilian population immediately following the coalition's victory. That might have prevented the scandalous plundering and the worst of the humanitarian crisis. It might also have quashed suspicion that the Americans are only interested in finding the fallen members of Saddam's regime and securing Iraq's oil fields.

On revelations of the true scope of the Sars virus in China, Berlin's Die Welt writes: Every time a new, strange kind of disease surfaces, there are typically two, equally unhelpful
reactions: appeasement or panic. In the case of SARS, it wasn't just appeasement, but truly a cover-up that Chinese officials now have to answer for. Obviously, the virus is dangerous enough to see politicians in China lose their
jobs over it.

The Great Wall of silence has fallen, says the Ostsee Zeitung. Those who would rather talk down the danger, sweep it under the rug, have been sacked. Finally, after the virus has spread to 11 provinces and taken over whole
cities, after 19 people in Hong Kong died in one weekend, finally, the officials are taking the disease seriously. SARS is a global threat, the paper writes and as long as no one
knows how it spread, there's no real way to protect yourself.

And the Rheinische Post in Düsseldorf comments that the potential fallout from SARS could expand beyond Asia. It's difficult to assess the risk of infection in the countries where the virus originated, the paper writes. If Asia doesn't manage to break the chain of infection, then SARS is destined to become a crisis both in terms of health and the world
economy.

Finally, Germany's most famous Formula One duo -- brothers Michael and Ralf Schumacher -- have become the topic of press comment for racing in the San Marino Grand Prix shortly after the death of their mother, Elisabeth.
Michael came first, while Ralf took fourth place. The question posed by the Berliner Zeitung: does this reveal the cool nature of professionals who are able to turn off their
emotions? Let's look with the heart, the paper writes, and finds: there are as many different ways to deal with grief as there are human beings. In sadness, people's core
characteristics become even more apparent. Those who think get lost in thought, those who feel, feel even stronger. And the Schumachers probably wanted to drive faster than they ever have before. They got in their cars, as if to race away from the pain. It doesn't make them colder than us; just faster, and more concentrated.