The number of people isolated in Beijing following close contact
with confirmed and suspected Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
(SARS) patients was 16,436 as of 10:00 a.m. Monday, up 563 from the
day before, according to the latest local epidemiological survey.
Also by 10:00 a.m. on Monday, 5,666 persons had been released from
quarantine, a rise of 940, said the survey.
The number of sites in Beijing isolated to check the spread of the
SARS disease remained at six, with the number of construction sites
rising from three to four on Sunday.
The Beijing United anti-SARS work team noted that the new
quarantine site is located in Chongwen District, while the other
three are in Dongcheng (East), Xuanwu (South) and Xicheng (West)
districts.
In
a related development, the Xuanwu hospital in southern Xuanwu
District has completed preparations for the admission of SARS
patients and will begin registration of patients on Tuesday.
The hospital, which began preparing its wards for SARS patients a
week ago, is currently manned by over 400 medical personnel along
with 600 beds.
The hospital has also dispatched more than 20 experts to south
China's Guangdong province to acquaint themselves with the
SARS-treatment experience of the province, where the first SARS
case was spotted.
(Xinhua News Agency May 6, 2003)