The World Health Organization (WHO) removed Beijing from its list
of SARS infected areas and lifted its travel advisory against the
capital Tuesday. The following is a timeline on the outbreak and
decline of the disease in the city:
-- In the beginning of March, the city reports its first SARS
case.
-- April 17, six local hospitals are designated for treating SARS
cases;
-- April 21 to the end of the month, the city sees an upheaval in
the spread of the disease, with the number of new patients ranging
from 90 to 150 daily.
-- In late April, Wang Qishan takes over as acting mayor to lead
the city's anti-SARS campaign, saying that only 3.4 percent of the
city's 32,000 registered doctors and 34,000 licensed nursesare
familiar with respiratory diseases, and the city has no respiratory
hospital.
-- Beginning of May, Xiaotangshan Hospital, the country's
firstSARS-only hospital is built within a week.
-- May 7, all local SARS patients are moved to designated
hospitals.
-- Early May, the number of new cases falls slightly, but remains
quite high.
-- May 9, the daily reports of new patients starts to decline
markedly; the same day, the number of local medical staff
infectedwith SARS also drops significantly, with the daily report
of infected medical workers down from an average of 15.81 persons
to four.
-- May 19, the number of new cases is seven, in single figures
for the first time.
-- June 2, the city reports three "zeros" for the first time: no
reports of newly-confirmed outpatients, no newly-confirmed
inpatients, and no new SARS deaths.
-- June 6 and 8, two more local hospitals are designated SARS
hospitals, including the prestigious Sino-Japanese Friendship
Hospital.
-- June 23, Beijing has just 46 confirmed SARS inpatients, while
the city has had no reported newly-confirmed patients for 12days in
succession.
Local experts attribute the successful control of SARS to the
city's timely measures and efforts, including the opening of
special clinics for fever patients, protection of medical staff,
organization of a 2,500-strong team to investigate the spread of
SARS, setting-up of quarantine areas to cut off sources of the
disease, and mobilization of local communities to fight SARS.
(Xinhua News Agency June 25, 2003)
