BUSINESSES across York are urging their employees to be vigilant when visiting areas affected by Sars.

The deadly virus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, has killed at least 319 people worldwide since November.

More than 4,800 people have fallen ill with the flu-like symptoms, mainly in Asia.

Insurance giant Norwich Union, which employs a large number of people in its York offices, has followed foreign office advice and halted business travel to affected areas.

The World Health Organisation issued guidelines naming affected areas as Singapore, Beijing, Honk Kong, Guangdong, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, the Taiwan Province and Ulaanbaatar City, Mongolia.

Restrictions on Toronto were lifted on April 30.

Louise Zucchi, head of media relations at Norwich Union, said: "We have been keeping staff informed and we've stopped business travel to places where the Foreign Office are warning against travelling to, so none of our staff have been travelling to those areas on business.

"We lifted the advice against going to Toronto. We basically reflect what the Foreign Office say.

"When it started, if people had already been there or were going on holiday, then we advised them to stay at home for a week."

Trish High, departmental manager of the High Street retailer BhS, said head office had issued a news letter advising the store to notify its regional manager if an employee had travelled to an affected area.

The University of York has posted advice for staff and students on its website, www.york.ac.uk

Hilary Layton, the university's press officer, said: "Unlike pupils at boarding school, our overseas students don't tend to go home during vacations, partly because they can't afford it and they need to carry on working during vacations. We don't think many of our Chinese students will have returned home at Easter. Information about Sars has been widely distributed through the university."

Updated: 09:20 Saturday, May 03, 2003