No hospitals in Beijing should turn away suspected severe acute
respiratory syndrome (SARS) cases, and violators will be subject to
punishment, said the director of the working group on SARS control
in Beijing at a meeting on Saturday.
If
a suspected patient is confirmed as a SARS patient, the hospital
responsible for the diagnosis is responsible for arranging for the
immediate transfer of the patient to a designated SARS hospital,
said Liu Qi, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the
Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and secretary of
the Beijing Municipal Committee of the CPC.
Heads of major hospitals in Beijing attended the meeting on SARS
control called by Liu.
The working group was established Thursday. Its deputy directors
are Beijing Mayor Meng Xuenong, Minister of Health Zhang Wenkang,
and a deputy director from the General Logistics Department of the
Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA).
(Xinhua News Agency April 20, 2003)