HONG KONG -- After weeks of international pressure, China yesterday significantly increased the confirmed death toll from a mysterious lung infection and acknowledged that the disease has spread across the country to the capital, Beijing.

Meanwhile, a senior health official in Hong Kong said the pneumonia-like illness, which generally had been limited to health workers and the relatives of infected patients, was now spreading among the general public.

Officials reported 34 deaths from severe acute respiratory syndrome,

including 31 fatalities in the provincial capital of Guangzhou and other cities in Guangdong Province by the end of last month.

Officials reported that 792 people were infected in the province between Nov. 16 and Feb. 28. The statistics were the first update released by the Chinese government since Feb. 9. China previously said five people had died and 305 had been infected.

The progress of the mystery illness was causing some panic and anger in parts of Asia. In Hong Kong, streets, airport lounges, restaurants, and bars were less crowded than usual, and people were seen wearing surgical masks.

Thousands of parents, many of whom criticized the Hong Kong government for inaction during the crisis, have kept their children home from school.

In Singapore, where 74 people have contracted the disease and one has died, the government ordered 861 people quarantined in their homes, threatening $3,000 fines if they ventured outside. They also ordered the closure of the school system for the first time since a polio outbreak in the 1940s. Altogether, 500,000 children will be affected.

In a statement released last evening, Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong's chief executive, said he was considering invoking laws to restrict the activities of people who have had close contact with infected patients.

''We can see the trend of the figure climbing. People from all walks of life have been infected,'' Leung Pak-yin, the deputy director of health in Hong Kong, said. ''If you are on the plane and an infected person is sitting either behind or in front of you and he coughs, you can get infected.''

Leung reported yesterday that 39 more people had become infected in Hong Kong, bringing the total to 319. So far, 11 have died in the territory. Earlier this week, William Ho, the chief of hospitals in Hong Kong, was hospitalized with symptoms of the disease.

Acute respiratory syndrome has been identified in 13 countries and in Hong Kong and has infected 40 people in the United States.

It is thought to have emerged in November in Guangdong Province in southern China, which is adjacent to Hong Kong. A Chinese doctor who treated patients in Guangdong may have carried the disease to Hong Kong when he stayed at a hotel Feb. 21-22. He subsequently died from the disease.

Worldwide, 1,323 cases have been reported, including 49 deaths. Officials say the disease generally spreads by prolonged contact.

Doctors have reported some success in treating patients with antiviral medications, such as Ribivarin, if the treatment begins quickly enough.

In Guangdong, Lei Yulan, deputy provincial governor, said the spread of the respiratory disease has slowed this month. She said that 77 percent of the province's patients had recovered and that more statistics would be released soon.

The Beijing Health Department acknowledged that eight people had contracted the disease and three people had died. The disease, however, had not spread into the general population in the city of 14 million, according to an official statement.

Western doctors and officials from the World Health Organization have criticized China for suppressing information about the disease when other affected countries were releasing updated statistics daily. China is typically sensitive about releasing information that could embarrass or reflect poorly on the government.

In Shanghai, a city health official criticized foreign journalists for reporting that there were 20 cases in that city. ''There is absolutely no SARS in Shanghai,'' said Liu Jun, the director of the Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau.

A representative from the office of the municipal government said that reports about the disease affect ''social stability'' and influence views of the city among travelers and investors. But she denied reports from doctors that city officials have warned them not to discuss cases publicly.

At Renji Hospital in Shanghai, however, nurses said a man was being treated there for the disease and was breathing with the aid of a respirator last night, but that his prognosis was poor. Two other patients who had slept in the same room with him have since developed symptoms of the disease, a nurse said.

In Beijing, the city government issued a private memo Monday telling doctors and nurses how to spot and treat potential cases of SARS. The circular stressed the need for ''social stability'' and told doctors to ''speak with one voice'' -- a reference to instances in which some doctors have provided independent accounts to Western media.

In the seaside community of Shek-O, on Hong Kong Island, Anne Lim said she has kept her 3-year-old daughter, Liana, out of school for two weeks. ''Among my friends with children, there is a lot of panic going around,'' she said.

More than 50 schools were closed yesterday, and 100 more would be closed as of tomorrow, officials said, as a cautionary measure and because parents were not sending their children to class.

Some Hong Kong residents criticized the government for not providing information about the disease.

''As usual, the government is proving is its utter ineptitude in communicating to the people,'' said Jane Parry, who kept her 4-year-old son, Dylan, home from school when she found out that he was the only one attending his class.

During a legislative session about the government's handling of the crisis, opposition lawmaker Emily Lau, wearing a surgical mask, questioned Hong Kong's health secretary, Dr. Yeoh Eng-kiong. ''My office has been inundated with calls from angry people. The government could have done more to show they are on top of the situation,'' Lau said.

Visibly irritated, Yeoh replied: ''We are not sitting back and doing nothing.''