The State Council, China's cabinet, said Saturday that it will send the fourth group of SARS monitoring teams to regions reporting few or no SARS cases to help local authorities with prevention and treatment of the disease.

The teams will be sent to 13 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, including Tianjin, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Shandong, Hainan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Qinghai and Guangxi.

Vice-Premier Wu Yi presided over Saturday's meeting and urged the teams to be responsible for these regions' efforts in containing SARS disease.

Wu, also the newly-appointed Minister of Health, said SARS prevention and treatment was the most important task for the Chinese government.

"Any region, any unit, whether having cases or not, should mobilize for the task," said Wu.

In areas with confirmed SARS cases, every possible step should be taken to curb the spread of the virus, she said.

As for those areas with no reported SARS cases, a prevention network should be working effectively, she said.

Wu said any local official who was found to be neglecting his duty would be severely punished.

She spoke highly of the medical staff who have been dedicated to combating the disease. She asked local governments and communities to take special care for their health and their families.

(Xinhua News Agency May 26, 2003)