"Now everyone is aware of the severity of the disease and knows how to prevent the spread of it," Fan said. "But normal life still goes on, which is good."

Her words reflect the attitude of most Beijingers towards the disease. With the publicity of information on severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) by all types of media, Beijingers have become more and more aware of the fatal disease in the past months and have begun to take measures to prevent it.

In the street, people pass by wearing a mask on face. In buses and subways, which are still crowded, the smell of disinfectant lingers in the air. In offices, classrooms, and even at home, people keep their windows open for fresh air.

Even by mobile phone short messages, people are sending their concern to loved ones with words like "wash your hands regularly and don't go out unless necessary."

China had announced a total of 1,807 SARS cases on the Chinese mainland as of April 18, including 339 in Beijing, according to a press release Sunday afternoon.

In the Dong'anmen vegetable market near the busiest Wangfujing shopping area, a shop owner from north China's Hebei province said that he is a little worried about the current situation, but not scared. Besides taking preventing medicine themselves, they sterilized the shop everyday.

"Though we believe we are not likely to be infected since we stay here all day long, we sterilize our stall everyday to make sure everything is okay," he said.

In front of the Beijing Wangfujing Department Store, a senior student from Beijing Broadcast University was shopping with his girlfriend, both of them wearing masks. They said they follow SARS information on the Internet.

"It's not easy to tell the accurate number of the infected as Beijing is the capital and it's huge. But we believe the government will take the necessary measures."

The government has done much to prevent the epidemic from threatening all of the country's 1.3 billion people. Elite medical workers have been mobilized to jointly develop treatment methods and reduce deaths caused by the disease. Posters and brochures on knowledge of SARS were found everywhere in cities and even in remote rural areas. The government also decided to cancel the week-long holidays for the coming Labor Day which falls on May 1.

To prevent and control SARS in specific localities more effectively, the central government has sent supervisory groups to cities, provinces and autonomous regions throughout the country, including Guangdong, Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi and Henan and Ningxia.

In particular, efforts have been redoubled to monitor and protect the development of the disease in places where crowds of people stay together, including schools, government institutions and barracks.

The No. 25 Middle School in the Dongcheng district in Beijing has sterilized all the indoor equipment in classrooms and offices, according to Gao Qiang, a doctor at the school.

A new pipeline and faucets have been installed to make washing hands more convenient. In addition, they have tracked all the students who skipped classes recently, said Gao.

(People's Daily April 22, 2003)