China's last hopes for participation in the Special Olympics will hinge on the decision of the SARS expert group, which is expected today.
The group is expected to meet earlier than its usual Wednesday meeting to discuss proposals put forward by the Chinese government and the International Special Olympics Committee last week.
The Special Olympics organisers are hopeful of a solution, but Chinese officials in Ireland remain concerned.
"We have not received any response from the government," China's ambassador to Ireland, Dr Sha Hailin, told The Irish Times yesterday.
"I need co-operation from your Government, and I hope they will allow our delegation to attend the Special Olympics."
However, Dr Sha said he would respect the Government's decision if it decided to ask the Chinese delegation not to attend.
"I respect the Government, and I understand their concerns. Maybe we'll have a much smaller delegation in the end."
The proposals are said to include the voluntary isolation of athletes for between 10 and 14 days, together with regular medical checks and monitoring.
Athletes would need to be in isolation from June 10th or earlier if the isolation conditions were to be met.
Special Olympic teams from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Toronto at present will be asked not to come to the games unless they are removed from the World Health Organisation's list of infected areas.
With no new cases reported in China on Sunday for the first time in six weeks, the authorities are hopeful they can overcome the outbreak.
The Health Minister, Wu Yi, was quoted by state-run Xinhua news agency as saying that China had the "confidence, resolve and capacity" to overcome the disease.
The WHO, however, has warned China against lowering its guard.
"We are just as pleased as China to see this continuing trend.
"Just as China does, we urge continued caution," said WHO spokesman Mr Bob Dietz.
Despite surprise at how rapidly the number of cases has fallen and previous questions about the accuracy of China's reporting system, Mr Dietz said WHO experts generally believed the statistics.
"We think the figures we are seeing pretty fairly reflect reality, at least for the provinces we have travelled in."