Firm hold of initiative: record on Beijing's control of SARS this spring

The SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) epidemic that came suddenly last year is still fresh in the minds of Beijing citizens. This spring, Beijing again faced the attack of SARS, but it presented quite a different picture. On Wangfujing Street under the blazing sun, the people under parasols look like blossoming flowers; in Chang'an Avenue in the evening breeze, residents are strolling under white yulan (magnolia); outside the Ditan Hospital which rescues and treats SARS patients, the flow of wagons and people remains--that is Beijing in May in the face of SARS the second time. This spring, with the concerns of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, Beijing has successfully concluded the rescue and treatment of SARS within a short space of one month, none of the seven SARS patients died.

From resistance to encirclement and suppression----

On April 22, Beijing reportedly discovered this year's first suspected SARS case, the city immediately started the emergency plan. On the morning of the following day, Liu Qi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, secretary of the Beijing municipal Party committee and head of the Beijing united work team for the prevention and control of SARS, immediately held the 20th meeting of the united work team since the fight against SARS last year, at which he stressed the need to persistently put the health and security of life of the people in the first place and resolutely fight the battle against SARS. On the evening of April 25, the Beijing SARS Control and Prevention Command was established, Mayor Wang Qishan called on the municipal authorities at the upper and lower levels to pay high attention, take resolute actions, concert efforts and unite as one in resolutely bring the epidemic under check.

Epidemiological survey had been rapidly started and efforts were made to ensure that those having close contact with SARS patients should be discovered 100 percent and put them all under epidemiological investigation and isolation observation. According to He Xiong, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Disease Control and Prevention Center, on the afternoon of April 21 when the Peking University People's Hospital reported a suspected fever case, the detachments of of the Xicheng District Disease Control and Prevention Center and Xuanwu District Disease Control and Prevention Center and experts at the Beijing Municipal Disease Control and Prevention Center promptly rushed to the spot and conducted epidemiological surveys. On the early morning of April 22, more than 180 people scattered in five districts who had close contact with SARS patients were all put within the scope of supervision and control and given medical observation; five of them who were found to have the symptom of running a high fever were given isolation treatment.

Rescuing and treating work was being carried out in an orderly manner. As soon as the SARS epidemic appeared, the Beijing authorities concerned immediately designated Ditan Hospital for the rescue and treatment work. At 6:20 April 22, Ditan Hospital instantly started the SARS rescuing and treating emergency plan; at 8:00, it held an urgent mobilization meeting, made comprehensive arrangements and organized a strong medical rescuing and treating contingent composed of 44 doctors, nurses and technicians, a dozen or so medical, nursing and information working teams entered a working state; At 1:00 pm32 wards in three disease districts of the hospital. Forty-five minutes later, the patient of the first case entered the ward for medical treatment.

Liang Wannian, deputy director of the Beijing Health Bureau, said that Beijing has all along been holding the initiative in its own hands in dealing with SARS this year.

From unusual circumstance to good order----

Last year, Beijing launched an "encounter contact battle against" the suddenly occurring SARS. But this year, Beijing made full preparation in the fields of material guarantee, system regulation and personnel training, thus laying a solid foundation for defeating the SARS epidemic.

As early as September last year, Beijing had summed up the practical and effective experiences and methods gained in the work of preventing and controlling SARS, Beijing was the first city in the country that formulated and formally worked out the emergence plan for the prevention and control of contagious SARS epidemic, it devoted major efforts to the establishment of a long-acting management mechanism that focused on prevention and combined prevention and control, thus realizing sustained prevention and control of this disease.

Through the Beijing SARS prevention and control office, reporters came to know that since June last year, Beijing has organized a 118-strong emergency rescuing and treating contingent, a 115-member emergency rescuing and treating reserve force, a 105-member expert team as well as 542-strong SARS emergency reaction specialized epidemiological survey team and invited 85 experts who have been fighting in the frontline against SARS to form a city-level expert lecturers' group and trained more than 5,600 key members for various districts and counties. Meanwhile, various medical establishments, disease control centers and designated hospitals have made full preparations in the fields of protective articles, medical apparatuses and medicines, fever out-patient department management is being perfected day by day in Beijing's medical institutions, a normal state preview screening system has been established to ensure early discovery, early report, early isolation and early treatment of the epidemic disease.

Beijing has decided that by 2005, the city will have set up a sound emergency mechanism for dealing with sudden public health incident, a disease prevention and control system, a health supervision and law-enforcement system and a public health information department to comprehensively raise scientific decision and management capability in dealing with sudden public health events, the ability of making quick reaction to and tackling emergencies as well as the ability to protect and promote the health of the broad mass of citizens; by 2007 the city will have set up a public health system with characteristics of the capital, capable of satisfying the basic health service needs of urban rural residents and meeting the requirements for the city's balanced economic and social development.

From panic to scientific approach----

In the face of the recurrent SARS, Beijing citizens have a more placid psyche than before. A "SARS hotline" worker told reporters that the hotline this year is not hot, he received only 47 consulting phone calls on April 22, whereas in the peak period of last year, he received nearly 20,000 consulting phone calls a day.

Nowadays, in a frank and sincere attitude Beijing timely made known the news and this has been established as a system, meanwhile, the city has provided better health education to citizens, which is no longer limited to common knowledge. The health department has timely distributed over 50,000 copies of publicity materials, telling citizens that they should establish the awareness of "self-protection, self-caution, self-consciousness and self-confidence",, above all, they should believe that the government is entirely capable of keeping the epidemic under control. "self-protection" means they should have the awareness of protecting themselves and they should refrain from having close contacts with those running a high fever; "self-caution" means that if one has the symptom of feeling a fever heat, he or she should go to the hospital for a check and receive treatment; "self-consciousness" means the need to establish a good hygienic habit, frequently wash hands, keep indoor ventilation and at the same time frequently participate in physical exercises; "self-confidence" means that they should believe that the Party and government are able to lead the masses in the concerted effort to control the epidemic.

When various items of work are carried out in a regulated manner according to law and operating orderly and efficiently, what is achieved in return are the city's peace and tranquility, and the masses' feeling at ease and freedom from anxiety. On the bustling Wangfujing Street, a man named Zhou Chengbin who took a photo for his wife and daughter by a statue said to the reporters smilingly, "With the loving care of the Party and governments at various levels for the ordinary people and with the foundation of successful experience gained and work done in the fight against SARS since last year, is there still anything worrying and fearful before us?" In the not-far-off Capital Theater, the performance of the 500th scene of the famous drama "The Teahouse" attracted many audiences; world-reputed performing troupes appeared one after another on the Second Beijing International Dramas Performing Season Stage; foreign display groups were gathered at the just concluded Seventh China Beijing International Science & Technology Industry Expo; business delegations, tourist groups and the "flying man" Michael jordan have all come. All these show that Beijing's SARS prevention and control work has won the world's confidence.

The above article was published on page 2 of People's Daily, May 30, 2004 and translated by People's Daily Online.