Beijing should not lower its guard against the severe acute
respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic, said Acting Mayor Wang Qishan
in Beijing Monday when meeting with Henk Bekedam, WHO
representative in China.
The whole world has seen that the SARS epidemic in Beijing has been
lowered to a very low level, but Beijing should remain alert, said
Wang.
Beijing reported no new SARS cases and no new deaths from the
disease from 10:00 a.m. June 1 to 10:00 a.m. June 2, according to
the Ministry of Health.
The acting mayor said that the city should further improve its
disease prevention and control system and be ready for any possible
relapse of the SARS epidemic.
In
addition, there is still much work to be done in epidemiological
study, diagnosis, treatment and contact tracing, he said.
Wang said Beijing has drawn lessons from what happened in March and
April and has implemented the measures of early discovery, early
reporting, early isolation and early treatment.
Almost all the people in the city, including medical workers,
officials and citizens, have acquired certain experience in the
fight against SARS and people's sense of public hygiene has
improved greatly, said Wang.
Wang said that with all the experience and prevention measures he
is confident that Beijing is capable of dealing with any possible
fluctuations of the SARS epidemic.
Bekedam expressed his firm affirmation of the recent work that
Beijing has done in containing the disease.
He
also emphasized that Beijing should continue the prevention and
control measures, as just one single case could bring the epidemic
back again.
A
complete public health system is of key importance in eliminating
the disease, he said.
Bekedam expressed his hope that Beijing could share its anti-SARS
experience with the international community.
WHO expert Daniel Chin, who also attended the meeting, said Beijing
is close to the target of containing SARS. He said the WHO team
would continue to cooperate with Beijing municipal government in
the epidemiological studies of SARS.
(Xinhua News Agency June 2, 2003)