No hospitals in Beijing should turn away suspected severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) cases, and violators will be subject to punishment, said the director of the working group on SARS control in Beijing at a meeting on Saturday.

If a suspected patient is confirmed as a SARS patient, the hospital responsible for the diagnosis is responsible for arranging for the immediate transfer of the patient to a designated SARS hospital, said Liu Qi, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the CPC.

Heads of major hospitals in Beijing attended the meeting on SARS control called by Liu.

The working group was established Thursday. Its deputy directors are Beijing Mayor Meng Xuenong, Minister of Health Zhang Wenkang, and a deputy director from the General Logistics Department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA).

(Xinhua News Agency April 20, 2003)