Chinese Vice-Premier Wu Yi said on Saturday China will improve its coordinated efforts to prevent the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in five provincial areas in north China.

During an inspection tour of Tianjin Municipality, the vice-premier said governments in the region, which includes Beijing and Tianjin, will launch proper publicity campaigns to prevent the disease.

She called on departments of quarantine, railway, transportation and civil aviation to strictly follow the anti-SARS regulations in order to prevent possible spread of the disease as hundreds of millions of people are expected to travel during the coming month for the country's traditional lunar new year.

The vice-premier said the coming period will be critical for China's prevention of the disease, and more efforts are needed to closely monitor the epidemic situation.

Two people have been confirmed as SARS patients in south China's Guangdong province, following the discharge of another who had been found infected with the disease.

(Xinhua News Agency January 18, 2004)