Lying in his clean hospital bed, Liu Xiaoliang, although suffering the potentially-lethal severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), was in high spirits.

"I know I will recover as I feel better every day, which can be attributed to the meticulous treatment and care of the medical staff," said Liu, a resident of Guangxi, capital of southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Feeling unwell on April 1, Liu went to a neighborhood clinic seeking treatment, but still felt ill the following day. He was then sent to the hospital attached to Guangxi Medical Sciences University and was diagnosed as a SARS virus carrier after a comprehensive medical check-up and full consultation with doctors.

He was immediately hospitalized and received emergency treatment.

Thanks to this timely reaction, Liu has been informed that he can leave hospital after just a few days.

"The treatment is effective and the medical staff are considerate. I am very moved and very content with the hospital's performance," Liu told Xinhua.

Most SARS patients of the Chinese mainland have either recovered or are in recovery under the care of medical staff and society as a whole.

According to the latest report issued by the Ministry of Health, by April 15, the total number of SARS cases on the mainland had reached 1,445, of which 1,099 people had recovered and been discharged from hospital. The recovery rate exceeds 76.1 percent.

The cause of SARS has not yet been identified, but Chinese sufferers have not felt isolated as the Chinese government has given full material and moral support to every patient.

Guo Jiyong, vice-director of Beijing Municipal Bureau of Health said all SARS patients who could not afford medical fees would receive free treatment in Beijing.

Ye Huanzhen, a senior citizen in Guangzhou, capital of hard-hitsouth China's Guangdong Province, was very frustrated and depressed when she was hospitalized this Spring Festival with the disease, but she recovered and left hospital recently thanks to the meticulous treatment from the medical staff and her husband.

The Chinese mainland's hospitals still allow family members to visit SARS patients, equipping them with quarantine dress and surgical masks, preparing disinfecting liquid for washing hands and bathing.

"To see SARS patients recovering is the best reward for our daily painstaking work," said Wang Jianqin, director of the medical affairs department of Guangzhou No.1 People's Hospital.

The selfless spirit of the medical staff has been widely commended by officials of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Zhang Nuofu, a doctor in Guangzhou No.1 People's Hospital was infected the deadly SARS virus when he gave emergency treatment toa critically-ill patients who suffered SARS and lung cancer.

"I have no regrets," said the Zhang, who has since recovered, adding that as a doctor, it was his duty to go out to save the lives of SARS patients.

Luo Meiying, recovered from SARS, said doctors and nurses were very kind. She believed that most SARS patients could recover withthe level of care they received.

(Xinhua News Agency April 17, 2003)