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| Beijing takes comprehensive measures to deal with SARS |
| CCTV.COM 2003-04-14 10:04:41 |
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Spring is the season that always sees the frequent occurrence of respiratory problems. While dealing with various kinds of respiratory problems, the disease prevention and control departments in many places in China are also intensifying efforts to prevent and control SARS.
The Beijing Disease Prevention Control Center has opened seven SARS hot lines dedicated to providing information about the disease and medical experts have been answering calls from people inquiring about it.
"The hot lines were opened on April 7 and they take calls around the clock. For the first three days, there were not many calls. Since then, we have been answering more than 3,000 calls every day," said Lu Li, doctor with Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
Besides calls asking about SARS, some of the phone calls are from people that suffered from normal respiratory diseases. "Some have a fever or they are coughing, and they may call and ask if they've contracted the SARS. We try to give them specific answers to remove their worries," said Lu Li.
In addition to setting up hot lines, the Beijing Center for disease prevention and control has also adopted many other measures to monitor and deal with SARS.
"First, we set up a sophisticated system to monitor new cases of SARS. According to our emergency plan, we set up seven working teams: the command and coordination team, information team, on－site treatment team, expert and technical team, examination team, logistics team and publicity team. We have more than 2,500 people dealing with the disease now. In recent days, these people have started to sterilize public places such as schools, spread knowledge about the disease and conduct surveys on epidemics,” said Liu Zejun, director of Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
The on－the－site treatment team has 60 people to deal with suspected SARS emergencies.
"We need to do two things. The most important is to find the source of the disease. First, we need to find out if the patient came into contact with patients with similar symptoms. Then we need to find out if he had any close contacts, people he met with. We will check out his relatives, colleagues, friends and make sure we have ways to communicate with these people, such as where they live," said Ren Zhengyong, on－site investigator.
People working in public places that have a lot of pedestrian traffic have also taken up preventive measures. In the busy Beijing subway posters are seen at conspicuous places and facilities are kept clean and sterilized.
"We sterilize those facilities people often touch three times a day," said a subway employee.
There are 700 subway trains in Beijing and every day they transport about 1.3 million passengers. Besides keeping the platforms clean, subway staff are also sterilizing the trains every day after working hours.
"We set up a leading team to deal with SARS in late March. Recently, we organized more than 1,000 people to clean the trains, the platforms and the tunnels. Nowhere is left untouched," said Xie Zhengguang, head of Beijing Subway Operation Co., Ltd.
To keep a good flow of air, all ventilation facilities both at the platforms and inside the cars are kept running all day long. Buses are another major means of transportation in Beijing. The public transportation system has also adopted many preventive measures against the disease.
"We sterilize the buses once or twice a day. We get off work only after we finish sterilization," said a bus conductor.
There are more than 21,000 buses in Beijing and the city transport authorities have provided enough sterilizer to keep them all immaculate. All facilities are sterilized, with special attention paid to hangers and seats.
Medical institutions have also sent teams into Beijing neighborhoods to spread information about the prevention of the epidemic among the people. This doctor said many people had not realized the importance of preventing the disease.
Madam Liu has kept good sanitary habits since the outbreak of the disease. She said "Every morning, I open the windows and wash my hands every time I get back home. I am keeping the house clean."
But despite the spread of the prevention information, many people are still worried. "I am worried. My kid is afraid of going out. We heat vinegar at home to get the fumes and sterilize the house. It's a traditional method. We don't know if it'll work," said a citizen.
The Ministry of Health data shows that most 1,025 of the 1,290 SARS patients in China have recovered. Although the disease has been effectively contained, prevention remains an important task.
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Editor: Han Ling CCTV.com
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