Beijing: `War on SARS`

As SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) is spreading rapidly through the population at a rapid pace without any foreseeable cure, the Chinese government has established the SARS Command and Control Center under Vice President Woo-y as director. It is almost as if they are going to war against the debilitating illness by extending the number of isolated patients, controlling the number of people passing through Beijing, etc.

SARS has been called the `Pest of the 21st Century` and the `Chinese Chernobyl.` As this horrible disaster has already attacked Kwangdoong-seong, Hong Kong following Beijing, authorities have decided to isolate not only SARS patients but also those suspected of coming in contact with SARS patients and animals. Hospitals, factories, construction areas, hotels, restaurants, offices, buildings in residential areas, villages and schools where the SARS virus has been found are all now subject to isolation measures.

In particular, a Beijing hospital with 1,020 beds was temporarily closed after having moved all its patients to SARS-designated hospitals in Beijing. Around 2,000 workers at the hospital are continually tested as to whether they have been contaminated. It has also been reported that SARS patients in some hospitals are being sent to solitary areas outside major towns and cities.

The WHO (World Health Organization) announced that Kwangdoong-seong in Hong Kong, the northern province of Shanxi, Beijing, and Toronto, Canada as restricted areas for travel. The Chinese government also restricted people from passing through Beijing, traffic that exceeds 4 million people daily.

The spreading fears of SARS caused residents of Beijing to stock up on preserved food and daily necessities. As the price of some items is increasing, the government is trying to stabilize this effect with a large scale release of supplies.

Schools in Beijing, some 170 elementary, middle and high schools, and 10 colleges are closed temporarily. As such, most students are leaving Beijing en masse, and the number of students and families returning to their countries is also increasing. Beijing national library is also closed for two weeks.

Chinese intellectuals urged the government on April 24 to block the spread of SARS and began a signature-collection campaign.

They insist that the government frankly discuss the status of SARS to the public through the Internet and keep the promise to prevent SARS as quickly as possible.

The Chinese have been blamed by the international press due to their concealment and slow response to the SARS outbreak. Because of this, there are rumors of a power struggle between the new leadership centered on State President and Secretary Hu Jintao, and the old leadership centered on Jiang Zemin, of the Central Military Commission of China.

IATA (International Airports Transportation Association) mentioned on April 23 that they would hold an emergency meeting with the WHO in Bangkok, Thailand to discuss alternatives for preventing damage caused by SARS.

Yoo-Sung Hwang yshwang@donga.com