Fear and panic in Chinatown where businesses face contrasting fortunes

Business has rarely been brisker for Dr Jiaf An at the Chinese Medicine Centre in Chinatown, London. Indicating packets of powdered root and cotton face masks on his counter, he said: "There are constantly people wanting something. Sars is causing panic.''

Around the corner at the Golden Dragon restaurant the head waiter, Mr Li, admitted that the number of diners at the two-storey temple to Chinese cuisine has dropped in recent days while, at a neighbouring restaurant, the owner said his takings were down from about £15,000 a day to £9,000 and he was facing the prospect of having to lay off staff.

"There is no reason at all for people to be scared," Mr Li said. "You don't see the Department of Health here in masks, do you?''

This was the picture of conflicting fortunes and attitudes yesterday at the heart of Europe's biggest Chinatown in the face of what many people within its famous pagoda-style gates were calling "the Hong Kong virus'' and which for many is a repeat of the prejudice that led to the Chinese restaurant trade being widely blamed for causing the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease two years ago.

Attitudes in Chinatown were in sharp contrast to the reassurances offered by Britain's chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, as he ruled out imposing compulsory quarantine on Sars patients and rejected calls to give the flu-like illness "notifiable disease" status.

Officials also ruled out upgrading checks on people arriving from the Far East at airports, saying that systems to deal with an outbreak were in place.

Sir Liam, who pointed out that all six cases in Britain so far had been dealt with by rapid diagnosis, said: "At the present time, the risk of disease remains low in Britain. The best way of dealing with it is to identify the cases early and get on with treating them."

Nevertheless, people in Chinatown were able to confirm widespread ill-ease that the virus could make its way from the Far East to the heart of London. At the nearby branch of Boots, a shop worker said its supplies of surgical masks had all gone in 72 hours.

Dr An pointed to the piece of paper in the window reading: "Specific masks and medicine for Sars'' and said he was selling several thousand 8lb packets of Banlangen Keli – an oriental root that is said to boost the immune system – each day.

He added: "Many people come every day. They are worried, they don't know what Sars is. I tell them and they buy this for their immune function.''