Liang Wannian, deputy director of the Beijing's public health bureau said that at a press conference.

The primary task of the anti-SARS fight in China is to contain or eradicate the epidemic at an early date, Liang said, noting that requires the city to continue the strategy of "leave no suspected patients out".

"There's no necessity for us to undercover the number of SARS cases," Liang said.

Beijing reported 7 new SARS cases Monday and the accumulative SARS number in the city reached 2,437 as of May 19, according to the Ministry of Health (MOH).

But there might be patients with false negative or positive SARS symptoms, Liang said, attributed that to the lacking of unified definition on the new disease.

"No one can be 100 percent sure that the diagnoses are all correct," Liang said.

The health-care sector of Beijing will "strictly follow" the definition issued by the MOH and the State Council, Liang said.

Beijing will try its best to meet the standard of containing the disease published by the MOH and the State Council, Liang said.

Measures prove effective to contain SARS

The "very much expected" single-digit daily number for Beijing's diagnosed cases of SARS, reported for the first time on Monday, indicated that the anti-SARS measures taken in the Chinese capital have generated good results, according to Liang.

In the daily report on the SARS situation nationwide, the newly reported diagnosed cases in Beijing in a 24-hour period reduced on Monday for the first time to below 10, according to the release of the Ministry of Health.

But Liang warned that fluctuations were possible because there were many factors of the disease "we did not know about." And so a saw-like fluctuation pattern was expected in the future, meaning the figureis likely to turn double-digit again, Liang said at a regular press conference on the SARS situation in Beijing.

Liang said the government and the people of Beijing should not let up guard and need to continue the anti-SARS efforts to carry out the measures which have been proved effective in fighting the epidemic.

Beijing to step up quarantine as floating population rises

Beijing is to step up quarantine on the large number of floating population as more and more people from outside began reentering the city to find jobs or do business, another municipal official said Tuesday.

Ji Lin, deputy director of the Beijing municipal joint leading group on SARS control, said so far there was no cluster infection by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) among the floating population in the city. By mid May, a total of more than 2.63 million people from outside Beijing lived in the city, some 600,000 less than the number in the end of April.

Ji told the press conference that Beijing would impose strict quarantine on the floating population as they enter the city, their residence in neighborhood communities and places where they work or do business.

Beijing also required the migrant population to register at local neighborhood communities as they rent or move in housing in the city, Ji said. He said municipal government personnel would inspect hygienic conditions of the housing rent and forbid the lease of those failing to meet quarantine standards.

He said the municipal government also asked the house owners and employers to shoulder responsibility of SARS prevention among the floating population.

(People’s Daily May 20, 2003)