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作者：Anonymous 在 罕见奇谈 发贴, 来自 http://www.hjclub.org
China Reports Spike in SARS Cases, Deaths
14 minutes ago Add Health - AP to My Yahoo!
By JOE McDONALD, Associated Press Writer
BEIJING - China reported a jump in SARS (news - web sites) deaths on Sunday and a tenfold increase of infected people in the capital — an embarrassing admission that cost the health minister and the Beijing mayor their Communist Party posts.
AFP
Slideshow: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
SARS:
What You Need To Know ?
Struggling to stop the spread of the disease, officials canceled a major weeklong holiday in May, when tens of millions of people usually go traveling.
The demotion of Health Minister Zhang Wenkang and Beijing Mayor Meng Xuenong came shortly after officials held a two-hour news conference to announce the sharp increases in SARS cases.
The Communist Party is the true power in China, and Zhang's and Meng's party posts were far more important than their government offices. Their loss left the two men greatly diminished as political figures and could foreshadow their demotion or outright dismissal from government.
Zhang lost his post as secretary of the leading party members' group of the Ministry of Health. Meng was removed as the deputy secretary of the party's Beijing Municipal Committee.
The government said Sunday the flu-like illness has killed 12 more people and that the number of infections in Beijing has soared from 37 to 346.
The new figures raised China's total number of deaths to 79 and its cases to 1,814, Gao Qiang, an executive vice health minister, said at a news conference.
"With such a situation, with more than 300 patients in Beijing, the situation is already very serious," Gao said. He added there were 400 more suspected cases in the capital.
Gao also made a rare admission that his ministry was not properly prepared for the outbreak. The ministry "has not given out clear instructions or effective guidance," he said.
But Gao denied reports that SARS cases were intentionally hidden from investigators.
"We have not discovered any locality or place that has intentionally hidden these statistics," he said. "Any such act will be severely punished."
In recent weeks, several nations have urged their citizens to avoid unnecessary travel to China. However, the Chinese government continued to encourage the public to stick with plans to go on vacations during the weeklong May Day holiday, which was to start May 1.
Marking a major shift in how China is viewing the SARS danger, Gao said that officials were canceling the vacation period, which has been extended in recent years to boost the travel industry and encourage consumer spending.
"The purpose of such an act is to prevent the massive movement of people and the possible spread of the disease," Gao said.
He acknowledged that the advisory could deal a big blow to China's economy.
"I'm sure this measure will mean massive losses in tourism revenue, but people's lives and health had to be put above everything," Gao said.
The illness eventually identified as severe acute respiratory syndrome was first reported in southern China's Guangdong province in November. Gao said that 46 people have died in Guangdong.
So far, officials have not detected the spread of SARS in large rural areas, he said. He noted that farmers have lower incomes and less access to medical care. If the outbreak hit the countryside, "the consequences would be grim," he said.
The death toll continued to climb in other countries as well. In Hong Kong, Health officials announced seven new deaths, for an 88 total, and said they were re-evaluating the drug treatment for SARS patients.
Indonesia deployed troops from an army brigade that usually deals with natural disasters to help nurses and doctors in conducting health checks of Indonesian workers returning from SARS-hit countries.
A SARS outbreak at Singapore's largest wholesale vegetable market raised fears that the virus has moved beyond hospitals and into the community at large. Dozens of police in face masks cleared the market late Saturday night and put up barricades.
In South Korea (news - web sites), health authorities considered putting a ban on blood donations by people for 10 days after they return from SARS-hit China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Vietnam, although there was no evidence the virus can be transmitted through blood.
A 99-year-old man became the 14th death in Canada from SARS. The country's largest trauma unit was closed to new patients after four staff members began showing symptoms, amid warnings that the virus is taking a heavier toll on younger, otherwise healthy patients.
作者：Anonymous 在 罕见奇谈 发贴, 来自 http://www.hjclub.org |
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