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| Chronology of China's fight against SARS since April 20 （1） |
| CCTV.COM 2003-05-01 14:05:30 |
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The following is a chronology of China's fight against severe acute respiratory syndrome （SARS） since April 20:
April 20
Chinese President Hu Jintao encouraged medical researchers to be confident of winning the war on SARS through a combination of high technology and persistent effort. Hu, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China （CPC） Central Committee, made the remarks when visiting the microbiology department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Medical Institute and the genealogical institute of the Chinese Academy, both based in Beijing.
Gao Qiang, Executive Vice－Minister of Health, released the latest information on SARS on China's mainland and answered journalists' questions at a press conference sponsored by the Information Office under the State Council.
As of April 18, statistics released by the Ministry of Health （MOH） said that China's mainland had 1,807 confirmed SARS cases, of which 1,165 had been discharged from hospital, as well as 79 deaths. In Beijing, the SARS virus had infected 339 people, 33 of whom had been discharged from hospital, and 18 had died of the disease.
In an effort to contain the possible spread of SARS, the State Council called off the week－long May Day holiday on China's mainland, discouraging mass travel. Meanwhile, it decided to dispatch three SARS supervision teams to Guangdong Province, Beijing Municipality and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
To upgrade disease control institutions in the central and western regions, the Chinese government allocated another 900 million yuan （109 million US dollars） to its early planned 1.2－billion－yuan budget this year.
Zhang Wenkang was removed from the post of secretary of the leading CPC members group of the MOH.
Meng Xuenong was removed from the post of the deputy secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee.
Wang Qishan was appointed deputy secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and member of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee. Meanwhile, he was removed from all his posts in south China's Hainan province.
The CPC Central Committee appointed Gao Qiang secretary of the leading CPC members group of the MOH.
The World Health Organization （WHO） said the Chinese government made "great progress" in publicizing information on SARS.
MOH officials said medical institutions at all levels would be punished in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations if they refused to admit suspected or identified SARS patients. Any individual who failed to fulfill his obligations might face criminal prosecution.
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Editor: Liu Hongji Source:Xinhua
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