The Beijing municipal government Wednesday organized a group of nearly 50 foreign journalists from some 30 media organization, including AP, Reuters and AFP, to visit the world's largest SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) hospital.

This is the first time the city has organized a foreign press visit to the hospital, located at Xiaotangshan area on Beijing's northern outskirts, said a source with the Beijing Municipal Foreign Affairs Office.

The Xiaotangshan Hospital, the biggest medical complex devoted solely to SARS patients on the Chinese mainland, was built in only seven days and nights by approximately 7,000 workers.

Between May 1 and 6, the hospital registered a total of 393 SARS patients transferred from other local hospitals in the national capital.

The reporters were allowed access to the designated living area of the hospital, located at a distance from the isolation wards.

The hospital, equipped with 1,000 beds, has 22 wards and nine auxiliary examination departments, said Zhang Yanling, the president of the hospital.

Currently, the hospital admit mainly light SARS patients, said Zhang, adding that one third of the 393 patients, aged 41.7 years on average, have normal body temperatures. All the patients are in stable condition, and no death and discharge from the hospital have occurred.

The patients are expected to recover in next 10 days and will then be discharged, Zhang added.

On Wednesday night, the hospital was expected to register another 100 to 150 SARS patients, said Zhang, adding that so far, none of the 1,200 medical staffs in the hospital has been infected.

(Xinhua News Agency May 8, 2003)