Authorities Monday released details of 10 epidemic control measures
now in place in Beijing to combat severe acute respiratory syndrome
(SARS).
Following are the measures, jointly announced by the Communist
Party of China (CPC) Beijing committee and Beijing municipal
government:
*
Enhance prevention and fully implement control measures.
Good prevention and accurate information is crucial in the fight
against SARS. Districts, government agencies and organizations must
identify, report, segregate and treat SARS patients as soon as
possible.
They must also locate and quarantine people who have had close
contact with SARS patients and provide for their basic needs, to
curb the transmission of the virus and protect the health of the
people.
All necessary precautions should be taken. Public places, public
transport and crowded venues where people congregate must be
disinfected on a regular basis.
*
Take a community-based approach.
The general public must be mobilized to build a network to battle
SARS. The sub-district offices, neighborhood and village committees
should all play an important role towards this end. Grassroots CPC
committees must keep up to date on the latest developments in the
epidemic and the mindset of local people to avoid mass panic.
All interior decoration projects must be suspended immediately.
Personal hygiene, household and community sanitation must be
improved.
*
Provide timely information to the public.
Medical institutions should report patient numbers to district or
municipal disease control centers.
The Beijing joint working group on SARS will collect and compile
the numbers and report the statistics to the Ministry of Health on
a daily basis.
The World Health Organization should be given access to the report
statistics and involved in exchanges of information and discussion
of ways to prevent and treat SARS.
The Beijing joint working group on SARS will hold two press
conferences each week to update Chinese and foreign press on the
latest developments in the fight against SARS.
*
Enhance quarantine measures for travelers by air, train and
road.
The Beijing Transportation Commission, Beijing Municipal Health
Bureau, Beijing Public Security Bureau, the North China Branch of
the Civil Aviation Administration and the Beijing Railway Bureau
have organized joint inspection teams for airports, railway
stations, long-distance bus terminals and highway checkpoints in
Beijing.
Inbound and outbound travelers, as well as those checking in at
hotels, are required to fill health declaration forms and have
their body temperature taken. Travelers showing symptoms of fever
must be sent to the health post and suspected patients will be
transferred to the designated hospitals as soon as possible.
*
Strengthen prevention measures in schools and kindergartens.
Colleges and universities, vocational and technical schools,
primary and secondary schools, kindergartens and nurseries in
Beijing must make the health of students their top priority.
Educational institutions must strictly implement prevention
measures by taking the temperature of students on a daily basis,
disinfecting public places such as classrooms, labs, canteens and
dorms, canceling all big lectures and gatherings.
Schools should exercise stricter control on access to their
campuses. Students are not allowed to leave Beijing without
permission.
*
Strengthen controls over migrant workers.
Construction companies, service industries and other organizations
in Beijing that employ migrant workers should take part in the
anti-SARS campaign. Employers are not allowed to suspend their
operation and send migrant workers back home.
The dormitories, canteens and toilets for migrant workers should be
regularly disinfected. Accommodation facilities for construction
workers should be made less crowded.
Medical expenses incurred by SARS patients will be shouldered by
their employers and the government.
*
Enhance control measures for large-scale events and at cultural and
entertainment facilities.
Organizations in Beijing are not encouraged to have national,
cross-provincial or regional events in the immediate future.
Public cultural facilities such as theatres, cinemas, libraries,
museums and cultural centers must implement strict disinfection and
inspection measures.
*
Strengthen control measures for conference, tourism or study tours
outside Beijing.
In
the period to come, organizations, enterprises and schools in
Beijing should not organize trips that take people out of Beijing.
Permission should be given by the supervisory authorities if such
trips are absolutely necessary.
All travel agencies are required to suspend either domestic or
international tourism arrangements for the time being.
*
Improve medical treatment with better technology and
management.
Medical resources must be integrated. The Beijing Emergency Aid
Center must be available to transport or transfer patients to
minimize risk of infection. Hospitals that shun their
responsibility or refuse to take in SARS patients will be
punished.
Beijing should take advantage of its technological strength and
research capacity to find the best cure for SARS patients.
*
Provide better support for health workers.
The physical and mental well-being of health workers fighting SARS
on the fontline should be a priority. Every possible means must be
explored to ensure that they have proper rest and nutrition.
(China Daily April 29, 2003)