Government experts will check that all labs conducting research into severe acute respiratory syndrome nationwide strictly adhere to the set standards, and those that pass will receive new licenses. Those that do not will be closed, the newspaper said.

Research experiments should be conducted in labs of grade-three bio-security, the second highest of the four bio-security levels, the Ministry of Science and Technology announced.

"Problems with SARS labs in Taiwan and Singapore have rung alarm bells for us," said a ministry official.

Two medical researchers in Taiwan and Singapore SARS labs were recently infected with SARS during laboratory experiments.

According to the ministry's overall appraisal on China's current bio-security situation, the measures already taken in the country are enough to safeguard bio-security during SARS research.