Most Beijing hospitals ravaged by SARS and weeks of suspended services have resumed normal operation, with use of both outpatient and emergency services seeing a dramatic rise, the municipal health authorities said Thursday.
Over 40 hospitals have gained approval to reopen, requiring thorough disinfection followed by a 48-hour period of isolation before the final endorsement by government disease control organizations.
At one of the largest hospitals in Beijing -- the No. 1 Hospital of Beijing University in the city center, the number of people seeking medical services reached 4,000 on June 17, close to that of standard operation, a source with the hospital said.
The number rebounded to about 2,000 per day, or nearly half of the normal standard at the People's Hospital in northwestern Beijing, the most hard-hit hospital which had been closed for more than a month because of dozens of infections reported.
People for treatment at the People's Hospital will have their temperatures checked twice before they are allowed admission, and the newly installed air-conditioning system was the most advanced available, said hospital officials.
According to the city's health authorities, the majority of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) sufferers in Beijing had recovered and been discharged from the 16 SARS-designated hospitals.
A small number of patients remained under treatment at six SARS hospitals including the Xiaotangshan Hospital on the northern outskirts of Beijing.
With SARS cases waning further, the relevant authorities were thinking of relocating all SARS patients to the Ditan Hospital for concentrated, intensified treatment, said health officials.
(Xinhua News Agency June 20, 2003)
