Tackling SARS the China Way

A 1,000 bed capacity hospital for SARS built in EIGHT DAYS

Villagers set up own blockades against outsiders

Without enough beds for SARS patients, Beijing simply went about to build a new hospital with 1,000 beds in a hurry - and had it completed in EIGHT DAYS. Finishing touches were done on Wednesday to the new 1,000-bed facility. The hospital was built in a former cornfield north of Beijing.

The facility consists of rows of white, one-story buildings surrounded by a 15-foot-high red brick wall .The facility is made of prefabricated panels. At the gate, is a sign that says: "Stop, Roll up Windows, Prepare to Be Disinfected."

The new SARS facility was built by 7,000 men and women working around the clock, the official Xinhua News Agency said. They appeared to have slept under tarps among the broken cornstalks in the surrounding fields.

Beijing's one week old mayor, Wang Qishan, said the first 195 patients were ready to be admitted to the new facility

The urgency by bureaucrats to tackle SARS came about when President Hu Jintao declared fighting SARS a national priority. To demonstrate the Government's concerns, the former mayor was sacked for mishandling the outbreak and at the same time China's health minister was replaced.

Thousands of people had fled Beijing last week. Those who stayed remained at home from work. Beijing had shut down its public schools last week, affecting 1.7 million students. Cinemas and other entertainment sites were asked to close and early 9,000 people have been quarantined.

Meanwhile rumours in the capital were spreading as fast, which include:

Authorities were planning to seal off the capital ( 13 million people)
Dusting the city with anti-SARS medications at night from the air
Martial law might be declared
Beijing might be closed after police roadblocks were set up to check people in vehicles for SARS symptoms
Buildings or areas with infections will be sealed off.

Mayor Wang denied all, for now. But said that anyone who tried to cover up information "will be dealt with severely."

Villagers set roadblocks to keep out SARS

Villagers around China's capital set up their own quarantine by blocking roads with dirt and stones to keep out people with SARS. Signs told outsiders to stay away. Residents were allowed to leave, but volunteer guards sprayed their vehicles with disinfectant when they returned.

At one village, a hand-lettered sign in red on a scrap of plywood said, "SARS Prevention, No Entry." "We'll stay here and keep this roadblock up until the threat of SARS passes," said a 30-year-old farmer dressed in cloth shoes and a worn military-style jacket who was guarding the roadblock with two neighbors. He would give only his common surname, Xiao.

At the village of Houniugang, about one mile from the Xiaotangshan hospital, a wheelbarrow blocked the road and guarded by a man with a red armband that said "Security Patrol" with instructions not to allow outsiders through. A roadside stand was set up to spray the vehicles of residents with disinfectant.

Go to Latest Posting

Comments 0