PLA Daily 2003-05-15

　　Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi Wednesday called on the north China areas to step up joint efforts to control the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic so as to bring about a rapid fundamental improvement in the region as a whole.

　　Addressing a meeting of China's SARS prevention and control headquarters held in Beijing, Wu said north China is a seriously SARS-afflicted area and the main battlefield of China's anti-SARS fight.

　　Success in this region, which consists of Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is of crucial importance to winning the fight against SARS nationwide, she said.

　　Wu, who is also minister of health and commander-in-chief of the headquarters, laid out five major tasks for SARS control in the region.

　　First, exchanges of information in epidemiology research must be strengthened and SARS prevention and treatment experience must be shared.

　　Second, SARS cases must be treated where they are found.

　　Third, the efficiency of quarantine work should be improved so that normal transportation is not affected, especially the transportation of materials for SARS control.

　　Fourth, a coordination mechanism should be established for the supply of medicines and other materials needed in SARS control.

　　Finally, the joint defense and control mechanism must be further improved.

　　Participants of the meeting, convened to implement the relevant instructions of Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, and Premier Wen Jiabao, included SARS-control officials from the region and those from the national SARS prevention and control headquarters.

　　(May 14, Xinhuanet)