Beijing (Fides Service) - The abnormal pneumonia SARS is causing a reverse tendency in Beijing: so far people wanted to come to the capital to work or to study, but now people only want to get away from the city. For the first time in many years Beijing is quiet, while the smell of disinfectant penetrates everywhere along the streets where everyone wears a facemask as protection against SARS. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.
According to information given by Beijing authorities, up to 22 April 693 infections were reported in the capital, 55 persons were cured, 35 died. On the 23 April 105 new cases and 7 deaths were confirmed. The total number of infections is now 782.
On 23 April Beijing city council issued a statement to reassure the citizens. The authorities guarantee supplies of food and normal opening hours of commercial centres. They ask citizens not to buy stock loads of supplies, to live a normal a life as far as possible, and give no importance to alarming rumours. The authorities also warn shopkeepers that anyone raising prices will be heavily fined.
On April 23 all SARS patients were moved to one isolated medical centre on the outskirts of the city, where doctors and nurses are also in quarantine. The central government has assigned 2 billion-Yuan (250 million Euro) to fight SARS in rural areas and in the poorest provinces and for research. Another 112.5 Euro will go to accelerate the first phase of the building of a national Centre for infective diseases.
However the crisis has also prompted acts of solidarity. China's world of entertainment has donated a large sum of money to hospital personnel working in front line to assist the stricken patients. RenMin University (People's University) has said that it will give admittance priority to sons and daughters of hospital staff working to fight SARS.
According to the UN World Health Organisation up to 22 April no new regions have been affected by SARS. So far some 229 people (5.8% of the cases) have died. (Fides Service 24/4/2003 EM lines 30 Words: 362)