| About 25,000 people are reportedly in quarantined in all of China. As of Monday, Beijing has put about 16,000 people under quarantine. That is understandable, given there are 1960 confirmed and 1523 suspected cases. Yet Nanjing is keeping 9,000+ under quarantine when there are ONLY one confirmed case. Even the whole of Jiangsu province is reporting just four confirmed cases and 16 suspected cases (5 are new from today). I certainly hope the Nanjing will not turn out to be yet another epicenter. But I find it curious that so much manpower have been concentrated in that area. It makes me wonder what is going on. My guess is that Nanjing (and Suzhou) are like the gateways to Shanghai. Zhejiang, the other neighbouring province, has also implemented very strict policies to prevent the spread of SARS. The authorities in Nanjing are pointing to the influx of returning residents and migrant workers -- several thousands from Beijing, Guangdong, and other SARS-affected regions are reportedly flocking to to city. But they didn't say if the thousands of people under quarantine are natives of the province or migrant workers who are just passing through. Oh just as I was writing this, I found this piece from the SCMP from this morning...may be that is it. Regards, Sigrid ======================= THE FIGHTBACK AGAINST SARS Tuesday, May 6, 2003 Mainland experts have called for better co-ordination between cities to prevent the spread of Sars in the Yangtze River delta area, after an infected couple travelled to Hangzhou and Wuxi before succumbing to the virus in Shanghai. The husband and wife from an unnamed "affected area" in northern China took a train from Beijing to Shanghai and visited the two other cities before returning to Shanghai to be admitted to hospital as confirmed cases. Deputy director of the Yangtze River Delta Development Research Institute Xu Changle said: "A joint epidemic prevention system for the Yangtze River delta area is now nearly non-existent." In an initial step, Shanghai announced yesterday that it would require all drivers and passengers on buses leaving the city to fill out health declaration forms. Previously, only visitors entering Shanghai had to go through such procedures, including having their temperatures taken. Mr Xu told the Liberation Daily the current practice was a case of "each person sweeping the snow from his own doorstep". Experts suggested the area take cues from its existing system for flood and other disaster prevention. Areas around Shanghai should do a better job of informing travellers that they will face medical examinations when they enter the city, Mr Xu said. Nanjing, a major transit point for trains coming from the northern part of the country, should be the first line of defence to find passengers who might be suffering from the virus, he said. Gu Renxu, head of the Resources and Environmental Science School at East China Normal University, said Shanghai should be the information centre for the rest of the region in the fight against Sars. Shanghai officials told a news conference last week that the city was working to improve co-ordination with the nearby provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but gave no details. Up to Sunday, Shanghai had six confirmed cases of Sars. Jiangsu had four confirmed cases while Zhejiang had three, the Ministry of Health said. |
With SARS, All We Have is Time