BEIJING (AP) -- Highlighting the danger of SARS spreading globally, Canadian officials angrily rejected any suggestion that a Finnish man contracted the disease in Toronto, saying the city has its outbreak under control.

Half a world away in its likely place of origin, Chinese officials pledged to maintain strict measures, including keeping thousands under quarantine, even as severe acute respiratory syndrome infection rates dropped in the capital.

The international death toll from SARS was at least 538 on Monday, when Taiwan reported two new deaths.

One victim was a dentist in southern Kaohsiung, an indication that the illness has spread from the north of the island. Officials said he might have been infected by one of his patients. The location of the other death was not disclosed.

In Taipei, morning commuters started the working week by complying with a government order to wear masks on the city's subway. Also Taiwanese authorities are installing video cameras to keep watch over about 8,000 people quarantined in their homes in case they have contracted the illness. So far, 184 people have been infected in Taiwan, and 21 have died.

In Finland, the University of Turku Central Hospital said a Finnish man who had been on vacation in SARS-hit Toronto in late April had contracted the illness.

It said the patient was recovering well, and that no one who had been in contact with him had shown any of the disease's symptoms: fever, aches, dry cough and shortness of breath.

Officials in Canada, eager to avoid disruptions to its tourism, disputed that there was a Toronto link to the case.

Dr. Colin D'Cunha, health commissioner in Ontario province, said the idea was "preposterous," and that the only way the man could have had been infected in Toronto was through SARS patients in a hospital.

"Unless somebody managed to visit one of our hospitals despite the restrictions ... they couldn't have been exposed - it's that blunt," he said. "I'm sure the (Finnish patient) had some respiratory symptoms and, simply put, was diagnosed with SARS because the person had spent some time in Toronto."

In Malaysia, where two people have died of the illness, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder continued with a Southeast Asia tour Monday. Aides to the chancellor said he is not taking any extraordinary precautions regarding his health during his tour.

In Hong Kong, about 250,000 primary students headed back to class Monday after a six-week school closure. High school students resumed studies recently.

Infections rates in the territory have dropped and officials said they will talk to the World Health Organization about lifting a travel advisory imposed early last month. WHO says the numbers of cases must stay down before the advisory is removed.

There were 10 deaths reported Sunday -- five in China, three in Hong Kong, and one each in Taiwan and Singapore. More than 7,300 people have been infected in over 25 countries.

China remains the hardest hit country with at least 240 SARS deaths. Another 69 cases on Sunday -- China's lowest reported tally in weeks -- raised its infection tally to 4,948.

New infection rates have dropped dramatically in Beijing in recent days, but the WHO says it is too early to declare that the capital's outbreak has peaked.

Thousands of people are being kept in quarantine amid fears that the disease is spreading from cities and into the impoverished countryside, where medical facilities would not be able to cope with a sweeping epidemic.

World Health Organization experts were visiting a poor southern Chinese region they believe is at risk of infections brought by migrant workers and that is ill-equipped to cope with outbreaks, an agency spokeswoman said Monday.

Guangxi province has reported 20 cases and three deaths, but WHO spokeswoman Mangai Balasegaram said the U.N. agency was focusing on the area because it sends 830,000 migrants a year to the hard-hit neighboring province of Guangdong.

"Guangxi is susceptible to infection because of its location," Balasegaram said. "It's a poor region. It would be ... less able to cope."

China's basketball star Yao Ming hosted a telethon for SARS research on Sunday from his hometown of Shanghai, bringing in more than $300,000.

Yao answered questions about his first season in the United States playing for the Houston Rockets in the NBA. "I returned to my motherland, but found it struggling through a most serious trial. Now everyone needs to make their contribution to the fight against SARS," Yao said.

WHO recommends postponing all but essential travel to the SARS-affected areas of Beijing, Hong Kong, several other regions of China, and Taipei.

The organization lifted a warning for Toronto on April 30 after intense lobbying by Canadian officials who said the country's outbreak had been contained in hospitals and who promised to boost screening for the disease among travelers.

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