Beijing, May 31: The Chinese government plans to lift an order which closed gymnasiums, entertainment complexes and Internet bars following the outbreak of deadly SARS even as it warned against lowering its guard against the virus which has reportedly shown a declining trend. "With a sharp decline in SARS cases in Beijing, it is fair for me to say that we have gained initial success in our fight against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic in the city," the Beijing municipal government's head of information, Cai Fuchao claimed at a press conference. The city plans to lift an order that closed gymnasiums and sports facilities a month ago, he said but did not give the date. "It won't be too long" before sports facilities re-open," he added.
The announcement came amid signs that business and daily life in Beijing was beginning to return to normal after stringent measures to control the virus forced the Chinese establishment to close schools and quarantine tens of thousands of people. At the same time, Cai warned against complacency, saying the city would not lower its guard against SARS.
Also, with the reported fall in the number of new SARS cases, the city government has decided to reduce the number of SARS-only designated hospitals to seven from 16.
The total number of new probable SARS cases in the first week was 666, compared with 65 in the latest week, down more than 90 per cent, Cai, also an official with the city's anti-SARS joint task force, claimed. Bureau Report