Beijing has unveiled a new anti-SARS government taskforce aimed at preventing any future outbreaks of the virus.

The inter-departmental Command Center for the Prevention of SARS will begin operating immediately after the October 1 National Day holidays.

The center will consist of medical and other personnel from more than a dozen Communist Party, government and military departments, according to media reports.

It will be headed by Vice-Premier and Health Minister Wu Yi, who played a key role in the campaign to stem out the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak earlier this year.

The virus, believed to have jumped from animals to humans, first surfaced in southern China last November.

More than 8,000 people worldwide were infected, with over 900 dying from the disease. In Chinese mainland, there were 5,327 cases and 349 deaths.

The World Health Organization in July declared the SARS outbreak contained around the world but has warned the disease could resurface again in winter.

Under the new Chinese guidelines for dealing with SARS, once a case has been discovered anywhere in the country, the entire nation will be put on alert.

The Beijing-based center will then direct efforts to quarantine and attend to the affected patients and their relatives and co-workers.

(Xinhua News Agency September 30, 2003)