Beijing public health departments have responded quickly to the
latest suspected SARS
case found in south China's Guangdong
Province and issued emergency measures to prevent the spread of
the disease.
All the hospitals in Beijing should strengthen monitoring and
examinations for fever cases, especially those from Guangdong,
officials with the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau said Saturday
afternoon.
Guo Jiyong, deputy director of the bureau, led a team to check
the city's airports and railway stations on their work on SARS
prevention and control.
Guo said that all municipal entry-exit inspection and quarantine
departments should strengthen temperature screening systems and
send any travelers with a body temperature over 38 degrees Celsius
to government-designated hospitals.
Special attention should be paid to the travelers from Guangdong
and the bureau has kept a keen eye on the information about the
suspected case in Guangdong, said Guo.
The latest suspected SARS case was confirmed on Friday afternoon
and is receiving treatment at hospital in Guangzhou, capital of
Guangdong. The case has had normal temperatures for three days and
is now in stable condition in Guangdong, according to local
hospital sources.
This is the first suspected SARS case ever found since May 23
when WHO lifted the SARS-related travel advisory against Guangdong
Province.
Beijing has already strengthened its prevention to SARS disease
as a SARS patient was identified in Taiwan Province on Dec. 17.
Beijing Municipal Health Bureau urged all labs doing research on
SARS to strictly adhere to safety procedures.
Emergency task forces in the city's districts and counties are
required to work on shifts night and day to help trace people who
had close contact with SARS patients, if any.
(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2003)