Sunday represented a milestone for Beijing in its fight against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) as the city recorded zero SARS cases for the first time since the outbreak occurred in March.

The reporting of zero SARS cases means that there are no suspect nor probable cases in Beijing Sunday, said Liang Wannian, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau.

The suspect SARS patient reported Saturday has been excluded, he added.

Beijing reported no hospitalized SARS patients on May 29 and had no probable SARS patients on June 2.

Liang said Beijing has entered the stage of a decisive battle against SARS and urged local residents not to lower their guard with respect to the epidemic.

(Xinhua News Agency June 8, 2003)