The educational system of Beijing reported 391 SARS cases by 10:00
am May 19 and the incidence of the disease among students is 0.06
per thousand, a senior local official said at the seventh press
conference of the Beijing SARS Control Working Group Tuesday.
Zhu Shanlu, member of the Standing Committee of the Beijing
Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC),
introduced SARS prevention and treatment conditions in the
educational system of Beijing at a regular press conference this
morning. Zhu briefed both Chinese and overseas media that from the
beginning of April to 10:00 am May 19, only 391 SARS cases (292
students and 99 teaching and administrative staff) had been
reported in the circle of education in Beijing. Among them, 38
patients had recovered and been discharged from hospital, and 16
had died.
Zhu Shanlu, also deputy head of the preventing and controlling
group of the Beijing SARS Control Working Group, said that through
the successful efforts of the city, the epidemic situation in the
educational system, as part of the city-wide trend, had been
contained effectively with the daily reported new confirmed SARS
cases featuring a drop in numbers. The figures remain in single
digits. Full-time institutions of higher education and universities
in Beijing had reported no new cases for 11 days.
Students have already become a group with a low incidence of the
epidemic, instead of being a group of a high incidence initially,
ranking sixth to eighth from second to third at first, said
Zhu.
Currently, students in primary schools, high schools and
universities live calmly. The adjustment and resumption of teaching
and educational plans are being carried out in line with relevant
schedules.
Beijing has 3 million students and teaching and administrative
staff, including 2.8 million students studying in schools of
various levels and types.
(China.org.cn by Zhang Tingting May 20, 2003)