Despite recent falls in the numbers of new cases of severe acute
respiratory syndrome (SARS), China remains on high alert and is
striving to curb the spread of the disease.
The Chinese mainland reported 20 new SARS cases and three new
deaths from the disease between 10:00 a.m. May 22 and 10:00 a.m.
May 23, China's Ministry of Health said Friday.
Yu
Zhiran, a psychologist in Beijing, said people should remain
cautious when SARS cases decreased sharply. A sudden relaxation
might trigger a resurgence of the disease and undermine the
previous prevention and control work.
To
prevent mass infection among the mobile population, Beijing has
issued a circular Friday demanding migrant workers who return to
the city report their names and addresses to their residential
communities and undergo daily temperature checks for the first
week.
The Ministry of Communications has announced that it will launch
5,300 road projects in China's vast rural areas this year, covering
78,000 km. The total investment will be 75 billion yuan (US$9.1
billion), including 39.6 billion yuan this year.
Daily telephone calls to the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention
and Control for SARS advice have dropped from about 10,000 on the
peak day to 4,000, which is viewed as an indication that public
calm and confidence is returning.
The central government decided on Thursday to allocate another 50
million yuan (US$6.25 million) to reinforce the fight against SARS
in the northern provinces of Hebei and Shanxi, and in Inner
Mongolia Autonomous Region and Tianjin City.
It
was the fourth allocation from China's state budget within a month
for local anti-SARS operations and the money would be used to cover
the medical expenses of rural SARS patients, and urban SARS
patients facing financial difficulties.
Leading institutions of traditional Chinese medicine have announced
that they have selected eight prepared traditional Chinese
medicines, instant herbal mixtures or injections, for the treatment
of SARS patients.
The remedies, including "banlangen", or isatis root, are selected
by a group of 150 researchers from 30 traditional Chinese medicines
already used in hospitals in Guangdong Province and Beijing for
their "probable effect" on treating the symptoms of SARS, according
to the headquarters in charge of the nation's SARS prevention and
control.
(Xinhua News Agency May 24, 2003)
