Number of SARS Cases Declining in Beijing

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, May 10, 2003

Number of SARS Cases Declining in Beijing

The number of newly admitted SARS patients on a day-to-day basis has declined in Beijing, a senior official of Beijing health bureau said Friday.

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Number of SARS Cases Declining: Beijing Official

The outbreak of SARS in China's capital city showed signs of declining on Friday, while Beijing senior health officials said they needed to work harder to track the origins of infection.

Beijing reported 48 new SARS cases in the 24 hours to 10 am Friday. The figure is the lowest since April 21, when the Ministry of Health began to release statistics each day.

According to the ministry, in the 24 hours to Friday morning, there were 118 new cases on the mainland, including 64 people who were previously suspected of having the disease.

There were 144 new suspected cases and six deaths.

As of Friday, a total of 4,805 cases, 230 deaths and 2,566 suspected cases had been registered in 25 provinces and regions on the Chinese mainland.

Of the total, 1,582 patients had been discharged from hospital upon recovery.

Among the cases reported in Beijing on Friday, 28 were formerly suspected cases and the remaining 20 were new.

"The plateau of the SARS outbreak, lasting for a dozen days, has declined to a lower level,'' Beijing Municipal Health Bureau Vice-Director Liang Wangnian said on Friday.

He said up to about 60 per cent of new SARS patients were not among those already isolated.

The rest were quarantined as they had had close contact with confirmed patients.

"It is difficult to say at present what the major origin of infection is,'' Liang told China Daily in an exclusive interview.

He said designated SARS hospitals continued to be the most dangerous place in relation to picking up the disease.

"But there are several newly emerging dangers now,'' Liang said.

University students and migrant workers, who have gone home for fear of SARS, are expected to return to Beijing as the situation in the city has improved.

"It is urgent now for us to tighten management of these people as they might bring new SARS cases with them,'' Liang warned.

Another issue facing officials is that patients from other areas, who intend to go to Beijing for medical treatment, may cause new cases during their journey and stay in the capital.

Also on Friday, Cai Fuchao, a member of the standing committee of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee, said the infection rate among medical workers had declined during the week, although they continued to top the list of SARS patients.

An average of more than six medical workers contract the disease daily, down from more almost 16, according to Liang.

The number of farmers confirmed with SARS in Beijing has remained at nine, as revealed on Tuesday.

The farmers were all infected while labouring in urban Beijing, said Liang.

The specifics of their cases, like where and how they were infected, are still under investigation.

They are from six districts and counties in the capital, but no further details have been released.

A reporting system to track the health of farmers in Beijing is expected to be established in the near future.

According to Liang, the SARS fatality rate in the city is fluctuating around 5 per cent.

The rates for different groups vary slightly and are usually bigger for the elderly or people with chronic diseases, he said.

Liang, also an epidemiologist, said many SARS patients did not die from the virus itself, but from other diseases they have already had.

Liang said a batch of experts are being organized to selectively examine the deaths to see whether they were caused directly by SARS or from other factors.

State leaders from a number of countries have expressed their sympathy and support in China's SARS fight.

Countries such as Cuba, Georgia and the Kingdom of Lesotho spoke highly of the Chinese Government's effort in fighting the disease and said they will offer all possible support and assistance.

Several State groups jointly released the criterion defining the meaning of "having close contact with a SARS patient'' and of a "suspected patient'' on Wednesday.

It has also been disclosed that SARS has not had an impact on the research and construction of the Shenzhou V manned spaceship.

It will be launched as planned as all preparations are progressing smoothly.

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