On Tuesday, civil affairs and local government officials in Dongcheng District began delivering to the poor and needy the assistance in various forms, including temporary subsidies, disinfectant, protective surgical masks and soap.

Yu Xiuqing, director of the Dongcheng Dictrict Civil Affairs Bureau, said the bureau has adopted the policy recently.

The district government had decided to provide an assistance worth 420,000 yuan to 13,651 residents of low income, 111 households which receive regular subsidies from the local civil affairs bureau, 951 retired soldiers, and 1,290 leading officials of neighborhood committees, Yu said.

Chaoyang District, in the eastern part of the city, has also allocated 350,000 yuan (US$42,000) in funding for the purchase of preventive aids for 9,874 needy residents.

A spokesperson for the Civil Affairs Bureau of the Beijing Municipal government said Beijing has increased funding for emergency aid to the needy infected by SARS.

The municipal government has pledged to offer free medical treatment to SARS victims covered by the government's low-income subsidies program, while other needy SARS patients will enjoy government subsidies for medical treatment.

On April 21, local medical insurance funds disbursed 270,000 yuan (US$32,926) to cover the medical expenses of a former SARS patient discharged from Beijing-based You'an Hospital.

The Labor and Social Security Bureau of the Beijing Municipal government has also issued a circular offering subsidies to SARS victims covered by government medical insurance and to the unemployed.

(Xinhua News Agency April 23, 2003)