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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, May 01, 2003

Chronology of China's Fight against SARS Since April 20

The following is a chronology of China's fight against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) since April 20:


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April 20
Chinese President Hu Jintao encouraged medical researchers to be confident of winning the war on SARS through a combination of high technology and persistent effort. Hu, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks when visiting the microbiology department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Medical Institute and the genealogical institute of the Chinese Academy, both based in Beijing.

Gao Qiang, Executive Vice-Minister of Health, released the latest information on SARS on China's mainland and answered journalists' questions at a press conference sponsored by the Information Office under the State Council.

As of April 18, statistics released by the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that China's mainland had 1,807 confirmed SARS cases, of which 1,165 had been discharged from hospital, as well as 79 deaths. In Beijing, the SARS virus had infected 339 people, 33 of whom had been discharged from hospital, and 18 had died of the disease.

In an effort to contain the possible spread of SARS, the State Council called off the week-long May Day holiday on China's mainland, discouraging mass travel. Meanwhile, it decided to dispatch three SARS supervision teams to Guangdong Province, Beijing Municipality and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

To upgrade disease control institutions in the central and western regions, the Chinese government allocated another 900 million yuan (109 million US dollars) to its early planned 1.2-billion-yuan budget this year.

Zhang Wenkang was removed from the post of secretary of the leading CPC members group of the MOH.

Meng Xuenong was removed from the post of the deputy secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee.

Wang Qishan was appointed deputy secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and member of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee. Meanwhile, he was removed from all his posts in south China's Hainan province.

The CPC Central Committee appointed Gao Qiang secretary of the leading CPC members group of the MOH.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said the Chinese government made "great progress" in publicizing information on SARS.

MOH officials said medical institutions at all levels would be punished in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations if they refused to admit suspected or identified SARS patients. Any individual who failed to fulfill his obligations might face criminal prosecution.

April 21
The State Council sent out the second group of supervision teams to provinces, autonomous regions and municipality, including Beijing, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Henan, Guangdong and Ningxia. The teams, led by senior officials of government departments, consisted of medical experts.

As of April 21, China's mainland had reported 2,001 confirmed SARS cases, of which 1,201 were discharged from hospital on recovery, as well as 92 fatalities.

Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing outlined the latest SARS situation and some major anti-SARS measures taken by the Chinese government to Eleih-Elle Etian, head of the foreign diplomatic mission and Cameroon ambassador to China, and other foreign diplomats.

The Chinese Ministry of Communications (MOC) issued an emergency circular requiring a nationwide clean-up campaign against possible SARS spread before the May Day holiday. It urged local branches to take precautions to assure sterilization and ventilation in bus stops, ferries and all vehicles.

A circular jointly issued by the State Food and Drug Administration and another four central government departments required relevant branches at all levels to put an upper limit on prices for anti-SARS drugs in case of any price hike.

The Labor and Social Security Ministry issued a circular, which required its branches to do a good job in protection of people who are covered by the basic medical insurance from the SARS attack.

The China National Tourism Administration issued an emergency circular to make it top priority to curb the spread of SARS by travelers.

Beijing's First Aid Center opened another ten 24-hour hotlines for SARS information.

A six-strong WHO team began a five-day investigation into Shanghai's SARS situation.

April 22
As of 8:00 p.m. April 21, the MOH reported a total of 2,158 confirmed SARS cases on China's mainland, 1,213 of which had been discharged from hospital after recovery. The death toll was 97.

The Chinese State Council dispatched a third group of SARS supervision teams to another 11 provinces and regions with fewer SARS cases. Vice-Premier Wu Yi, in her address to the team members, called for a better understanding of the SARS situation and bold measures to contain the disease.

The Ministry of Communications issued an emergency circular urging its branches nationwide to ensure the smooth distribution of anti-SARS drugs. The ministry also required stepped-up efforts by all branches to prevent SARS infection in crowded areas, like construction sites.

Beijing International Airport installed infrared temperature scanners to check the body temperature of every inbound and outbound passenger. Priorities for Beijing's port departments in SARS containment were to stop any inbound or outbound SARS carrier and ensure staff safety.

Liu Qi, secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, visited communities in northern downtown Beijing and the Central University for Nationalities. He said strict monitoring should be incessant and any confirmed or suspected SARS case should be reported immediately.

The Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress appointed Wang Qishan Beijing vice-mayor and acting mayor.The committee also accepted Mayor Meng Xuenong's resignation.

April 23
Chinese President Hu Jintao expressed deep grief for the death of Deng Lianxian, a Guangzhou-based infectious diseases doctor, who died of SARS after being infected on duty. Hu also offered sympathy and commiseration to Deng's family. China, said Hu, would eventually win the war on SARS with the hard work and devotion of medical workers and the unity of the nation.

As of 8:00 p.m. April 22, the MOH reported a total of 2,305 confirmed SARS cases, of which 1,231 had been discharged from hospital. The fatalities were 106.

An urgent circular issued by the MOH urged relevant departments nationwide to strengthen the administration and supervision of anti-SARS disinfectant production, in a bid to maintain an adequate level of disinfectant supplies and their quality.

Beijing's anti-SARS task force sent out a total of 152 supervisors to the city's 147 major hospitals. The municipal government designated another eight hospitals for SARS treatment. In the earlier stage, six hospitals had been designated.

The Beijing municipal government decided to put some areas seriously affected by SARS under quarantine, which it said was intended to effectively stop SARS spreading and cut the way it spread.

The Chinese government decided to create a national task force to combat SARS, and a national fund of two billion yuan (243 million US dollars) for prevention and control of the disease. Themoves were taken by the State Council at its executive meeting chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao. The task force, known as the SARS Control and Prevention Headquarters of the State Council, was to coordinate national efforts to combat the disease. Vice-Premier WuYi was appointed as commander-in-chief. Hua Jianmin, State Councilor and secretary general of the State Council, acted as deputy commander-in-chief. The fund would be used to finance the treatment of farmers and poor urban residents infected with SARS and to upgrade county-level hospitals and purchase SARS-related medical facilities in central and western China, and for research programs on the virus.

April 24
Chinese Vice-President Zeng Qinghong toured the CPC Party School, of which he is also president. He checked the SARS precautions in the school, which catered for more than 1,600 students, several thousand teachers and retired cadres and their families as well as nearly 1,000 construction workers within the school.

College students and teachers in Beijing were advised in a circular from Beijing's education authorities to stay at school during the five-day May Day holiday in a bid to prevent SARS spreading.

The MOH urged medical institutions nationwide to step up efforts to track down any suspected SARS patient and trace people who had close contact with SARS virus carriers.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs issued a circular, requiring its branches at all levels to subsidize poor people infected with the flu-like disease in the countryside.

A circular jointly released by the State Food and Drug Administration and another four central government departments required that any SARS cure should not be used without permission from the national anti-SARS team led by the MOH.

The MOH said the rule of "zero reporting" of the number of SARS cases, which began on April 20, would be listed in the national disease reporting system from April 26.

The MOH reported a total of 2,422 SARS cases on China's mainland by 8:00 p.m. April 23. Of the total, 1,254 patients had been discharged from hospitals and 110 had died.

The ongoing nationwide public health campaign should focus on SARS prevention and treatment, said Vice premier Wu Yi in a televised meeting.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao would attend the China-ASEAN leaders' special meeting on SARS to be held in Bangkok on April 29 at the invitation of Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao.

April 25
Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC), presided over the second meetingof the 10th NPC Standing Committee. The members of the NPC Standing Committee discussed the work report on prevention and treatment of SARS disease delivered by vice-premier Wu Yi on behalf of the State Council.

In a meeting with visiting French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said that Raffarin's visit toChina at this critical juncture in the country's fight against SARS would greatly advance bilateral relations.

The 10th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) held its fourth meeting of chairman and vice-chairmen, presided over by CPPCC National Committee Chairman Jia Qinglin. He asked CPPCC committees at various levels and CPPCC members to contribute to the fight against SARS.

Li Changchun, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, called on the country's state-run mass media to help unite the people and boost public morale inthe fight against SARS.

Vice-Premier Wu Yi, on behalf of the State Council, delivered a work report on the prevention and control of SARS to the NPC Standing Committee, China's top legislature. She briefed on the eight measures to be taken by the Chinese government to contain SARS spread. These measures included canceling of the week-long May Day holiday, stopping possible spreading of SARS to rural areas, reducing the infection rates among medical staff and providing medical assistance for foreign embassy staff, media and companies, etc.

The State Council dispatched the fourth group of anti-SARS supervision teams, which made possible the presence of anti-SARS supervisors in every provincial-level governments on China's mainland. The council decided to set up a crisis management mechanism and set aside 3.5 billion yuan (421.7 million US dollars)to establish a nationwide public health network this year for public health emergencies.

As of 8:00 p.m. April 24, the MOH reported a total of 2,601 confirmed SARS cases on China's mainland. Of the total, 1,277 had been discharged from hospitals. The death toll reached 115.

The Ministry of Agriculture issued a circular urging every region to take every precaution to combat SARS.

The All-China Federation of Trade Unions urged all trade unions nationwide to standardize their reporting system concerning SARS and anti-epidemic system. It also required its own branches, including those free of the SARS virus, to take precautions against SARS.

The Ministry of Culture canceled all shows, exhibitions and entertainment activities in public places in areas seriously hit by the SARS epidemic. Entertainment venues in SARS-hit areas should be thoroughly sterilized. Business should be immediately stopped in any venue that SARS patients visited.

After a five-day investigation of Shanghai's SARS situation, the WHO team said the city's disease monitoring and reporting system functioned well and there was "no intentional or systematic cover-up or underreported cases". Shanghai had relatively fewer SARS cases, said the delegation, credited to the fact that Shanghai had taken advantage of its good public health system.

April 26
Chinese President Hu Jintao talked over phone with US President George W. Bush at the request of the US administration. During the conversation, Bush spoke highly of the Chinese government's extraordinary work in fighting SARS and said the US was willing tooffer any possible support and assistance. Hu said the Chinese government gave priority to the people's health and lives and was stepping up implementation of effective measures to fight SARS.

During a meeting with visiting Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes in Shanghai, Jiang Zemin, chairman of the Central Military Commission of China said he believed that as long as the people made concerted efforts, took proper measures and relied on science, they would finally overcome SARS and win the battle.

Wu Bangguo, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, called on all the lawmakers to work closely with the central government to fight SARS with the joint efforts of all sectors, when delivering a speech at the second meeting of the 10th NPC Standing Committee. ????

In an inspection to the SARS prevention work at Beijing's construction sites, supermarkets, communities and universities, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao requested all local governments, departments and institutions to strictly implement the key decisions and deployments laid out by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on the prevention and control of the SARS.

Chinese Vice-Premier Huang Ju ordered the country's transportation authorities to step up the prevention and control of SARS on planes, trains, buses, ships and in airports, and train and bus stations. Huang issued the order during his tour of the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China, the Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Communications and other departments.

Beijing Municipal Culture Bureau, Public Security Bureau and the Industry and Commerce Bureau jointly made a decision in line with the national law on epidemic prevention and treatment to suspend all entertainment businesses involving mass public gatherings in an effort to curb the spread of SARS. These businesses include karaoke houses, internet bars, electronic game bars, theaters and cinemas.

The health and quarantine team under China's SARS prevention headquarters inspected Beijing Railway Station, Zhaogongkou long-distance bus station and Beijing's international airport on the prevention of SARS.

State Councilor Zhou Yongkang visited and extended regards to Beijing policemen who were working at the front line in the fight against SARS.

Beijing acting Mayor Wang Qishan, had an informal discussion with 17 foreign enterprises in Beijing, briefing them on the latest information of SARS in Beijing.

As of 10:00 a.m. April 26, China reported a total of 2,753 SARS cases, with 1,285 cases discharged from hospital upon recovery and122 dead.

China's Ministry of Health issued an urgent notice, requesting local health departments to include SARS reports in the national disease report management system. Health bureaus at various levels were ordered to report confirmed SARS cases by 10:00 a.m. each dayto the Ministry of Health no later than 12:00.

Xinhua was authorized to publish the law on epidemic prevention and treatment for the second time to ensure that the law could be known and implemented by citizens, organizations, and relevant government departments.

Liu Qi, secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, called for measures to ensure the health and safety of rural workers in the urban area and all rural people during an inspection tour of local villages and construction sites.

Ye Xin, Deng Lianxian and Fan Xinde, three medical staff who died in the fight against "SARS", were honored by the Ministry of Health.

China's State Council dispatched another group of inspection teams to the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, where only a few or no SARS cases were reported, to supervise and guide their work on SARS prevention.

April 27
A total of 320 million yuan (38.6 million US dollars) was earmarked by governments at various levels of Beijing to improve the city's emergency response system for fighting SARS.

The Beijing SARS-control working group decided to publish through major local media the number of SARS cases in every district and county for the previous day and the information on the latest quarantine areas and the number of quarantined people.

Liu Qi, secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, said Beijing could overcome challenges brought about by SARS through the concerted efforts of the whole society.

The Ministry of Commerce decided to set up a system to monitor and report on the market supply of daily necessities in all cities in order to maintain market stability. The ministry also urged its national commerce branches to be well prepared to distribute products and medical supplies such as masks and disinfectants to prevent and control the SARS spread.

The Chinese mainland recorded 2,914 SARS cases by 10:00 a.m. April 27, of which 1,299 patients were discharged from hospitals upon recovery and 131 died.

Beijing would cooperate with the World Health Organization (WHO)in an active and honest way to fight SARS, Liu Qi, secretary of Beijing Municipal Committee of Communist Party of China, and Wang Qishan, acting mayor of Beijing, told WHO China representative Henk Bekedam in a meeting.

April 28
A meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, chaired by Hu Jintao, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, discussed how to handle the relationships between economic work and the fight against SARS. He called on all localities and departments to continuously move forward with economic work while continuing to fight the SARS epidemic.

Premier Wen Jiabao left for the China-ASEAN leaders' special meeting on SARS, which was held in Bangkok.

During an inspection of the Yunnan Provincial Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Premier Wen Jiabao said areas with zero or only a few reports of SARS cases should also embrace preventive measures and make preparations.

On the order of Jiang Zemin, chairman of the Central Military Commission, a total of 1,200 military doctors and nurses were transferred from all major military units to Beijing hospitals designated to receive and treat SARS patients.

The 2003 annual meeting of the Bo'ao Forum for Asia (BFA) was postponed due to SARS and concerns over the health and safety of participants, the BFA board of directors announced. The decision was made "in view of uncertainty over SARS," and the board said the event would be re-scheduled after further consultations with the relevant parties.

The Chinese mainland recorded 3,106 SARS cases by 10:00 a.m. April 28, of which 1,306 patients were discharged from hospitals upon recovery and 139 died.

The National SARS-control headquarters urged to strengthen scientific research to assist the fight against SARS, especially in clinical treatment, by mobilizing research personnel, facilities and funds across the country.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs called on rural residents to join in the preventive work.

The Ministry of Railways issued a circular urging key railway stations and passenger trains to prepare devices for quickly checking passengers' temperatures to prevent SARS patients and those with suspected symptoms from embarking.

A hotline providing a psychological consulting service was opened by the Mental Health Research Institute of Beijing University.

April 29
Hu Jintao, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, urged solidarity and reliance on science and technology in combating the SARS epidemic at the fourth study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called for closer coordination and cooperation between China and the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries in the fight against the SARS epidemic. Addressing the China-ASEAN leaders' special meeting on SARS, Wen said as long as China and ASEAN join hands in facing the fight against SARS, the disease would be definitely defeated.

Premier Wen Jiabao in Bangkok met with the Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Singapore's Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. He exchanged views with the three leaders on regional cooperation on SARS prevention and further improving bilateral friendly cooperation.

Chinese Vice-President Zeng Qinghong, on behalf of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, extended his regards to the medical staff working at the front line fighting SARS at a national symposium for model workers.

Vice-Premier, Wu Yi, also head of China's SARS prevention and control headquarters, requested that Beijing make sure that all measures for SARS prevention, treatment, and control were well implemented. Wu made the requests during an inspection in Beijing. ????

Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu noted the importance of preventing SARS spread in rural areas during an inspection at the Ministry of Agriculture.

He Guoqiang, head of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee spoke highly of the remarkable contributions that China's intellectuals have made in the fight against SARS. Hemade the remarks at a national meeting held for the country's intellectuals.

Beijing initiated a comprehensive social security management mechanism to mobilize the public and accumulate the forces of the mass and the society to fight against the SARS.

As of 10:00 a.m. April 29, Chinese mainland reported a total of 3,303 SARS cases, of which 1,322 were discharged from hospital upon recovery and 148 died of the disease. (Xinhua News)


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