SARS-containing Measures Effective in Rural Areas

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, May 15, 2003

SARS-containing Measures Effective in Rural Areas

The measures China has taken to prevent the spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)in rural areas are effective, said officials Thursday at a press conference in Beijing.

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The measures China has taken to prevent the spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)in rural areas are effective, said officials Thursday at a press conference in Beijing.

Liu Jian, vice minister of agriculture said the Chinese government has shown great concern over the SARS situation in rural areas and made various efforts to contain the spread of SARS and maintain the stability in countryside through interaction between urban and rural areas and by integrating resources across departments, including to forbid personnel exchange between affected cities with countryside and to improve the capability to accept and treat SARS patients in rural areas.

Qi Xiaoqiu, director of the disease control department under the Ministry of Health, said China is undoubtedly capable of containing SARS with the three-level medical network of county, town, and village levels and the one million medical workers in rural areas.

The rural medical workers have successfully checked the spread of various epidemics in the past, Qi said.

China takes measures to ensure adequate medical staff in rural areas

China will take measures to ensure there are enough medical workers treating SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) in rural areas, said Vice Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture Liu Jian Thursday at a press conference.

The measures include transferring doctors from more affluent provinces to economically underdeveloped provinces, transferring doctors from military hospital divisions and opening training programs for medical workers at county level, Liu said.

For example, a team of doctors were sent to the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Wednesday from the Jiangsu province to help local efforts in controlling SARS, he said.

Most migrant workers stay despite SARS: Chinese official

A senior Chinese official said Thursday that most of China's 100 million farmers working in urban areas have remained in their working places, thanks to measures taken by related departments to control the migration of workers in a bid to curb the spreading of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

Liu Jian, vice minister of agriculture, said at a press conference that China has about 100 million farmers working in urban areas, of whom 36 million to 40 million work in provinces other than their hometown. A recent survey shows that so far abouteight million of the migrant workers have returned home, half of them are considered normal seasonal migration and half for SARS reasons.

He said that with the nearing of the summer harvest, the Chinese government is adopting active measures to help families ofmigrant workers who have harvest difficulties.

According to Liu, farmers working in cities will have free treatment if they are infected by SARS. Urban employers are not allowed to fire farmer workers during the time of SARS, and the government will provided related enterprises with tax exemption and other kinds of financial aid.

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