The Chinese State Council has decided to dispatch the third group of supervision teams to step up efforts to curb severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 11 provinces and regions with fewer cases of the disease.
Addressing the team members on Tuesday, Vice-Premier Wu Yi called for resolute measures to curb the spread of the disease and to have a better understanding of the SARS situation.
Areas with fewer cases must be on high alert and prepared to prevent an outbreak of the disease, said the vice-premier.
The areas the teams will inspect are the provinces of Liaoning,Jilin, Zhejiang, Fujian, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Chongqing Municipality and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The central government has sent two groups of supervision teams since mid-April to the areas hit hardest by the disease, including Beijing, south China's Guangdong Province, the central Henan Province, and north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
The teams, led by senior officials of departments of the central government and dispatched on Wednesday, consists of medical experts and staff members of the government departments.
The vice-premier said the supervision teams should help local authorities set up powerful SARS control task forces in accordance with the arrangements of the central authorities.
The task forces should formulate strategies in case of an outbreak of the disease, improve measures to investigate and follow those who have or are suspected of being infected.
(Xinhua News Agency April 23, 2003)
