No cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome
(SARS) have been found among foreign students
or teachers in the Chinese capital, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of
Health and Municipal Commission for Educational Affairs announced.
A
source with the two municipal organs said Tuesday that there are
now 25,000 adult foreign students, and another 400 children of
foreign origins who are studying at primary and middle schools or
attending kindergartens in Beijing.
Guo Jiyong, deputy head of Beijing Municipal Health Bureau, said a
range of measures had been taken to prevent and control the spread
of SARS among foreigners in Beijing.
The measures include increased public education about SARS and ways
to prevent it, drafting of detailed emergency solutions on SARS,
launch of a 24-hour English service hotline, and the
designation of two hospitals for treating foreigners with the
disease.
Tourists from overseas and residents in Beijing are given
English-version brochures about SARS and cards bearing
the names of the designated hospitals and related consulting
services.
Public places where foreigners often visit and public
transportation vehicles have all been disinfected thoroughly.
By
the midnight of Monday, a total of 37 people in Beijing had been
diagnosed with SARS, four of whom have died, and eight others have
recovered and been discharged from hospitals.
(cctv.com April 16, 2003)