Haidian District, home to China's "Silicon Valley," Zhongguancun, has about the same number of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) cases as Beijing's other districts, said Yu Jun, spokesman and also deputy administrator of the district.

Yu's remarks were made to rectify the public's impression that Haidian was especially hard-hit. In reality, Yu explained, the number of cases in Haidian is proportionally high because a number of cases from elsewhere in the city had been sent to hospitals in Haidian.

As of 10:00 a.m. on May 4, hospitals in the district had registered 844 confirmed and suspected SARS patients, said Yu, adding that only 274 of them are permanent residents of the district. The other 570 are from other districts and provinces in the country.

Among the 274 permanent residents of Haidian, 88 are confirmed SARS patients, he added.

Haidian is home to 29 hospitals, accounting for 75 percent of the total in Beijing municipality.

The district has redoubled its efforts and adopted new measures in the fight against SARS, said Yu.

(Xinhua News Agency May 5, 2003)