Beijing plans to increase the capacity of its 24-hour hotlines to offer advice and information on severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and to train more consultants.
Liu Zejun, director of the Beijing Municipal Disease Control Center, said Monday that the number of calls to the center averaged more than 3,000 per day since two hotlines were opened on Apr. 8 and 9, one in Chinese (010-64287788) and the other in English (010-64212486).
Twenty more lines would be added to the center's hotlines using the numbers above, compared with only two at present, said the director.
Liu, who did not say when the extra capacity would be available, noted that the local telecommunications department was moving to enhance its handling capacity for the two hotline services.
On Tuesday, the center begins to train an unspecified number of young volunteers, including those recommended by the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China, and students from Beijing-based Capital Medical University.
The volunteers, who speak English and have a good command of related medical knowledge, will work at the center to offer information on SARS.
The hotline provides information on how the disease spreads, how to carry out preventive methods, and how to react to symptoms similar to SARS.
(Xinhua News Agency April 22, 2003)
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