Sars overwhelming Beijing hospitals

Beijing's Sars outbreak "remains severe" and hospitals handling the disease don't have enough beds for all suspected cases, said the city's new mayor.

Mayor Wang Qishan acknowledged residents were frightened and that there had been some public panic. But he denied speculation that the Chinese capital would be sealed off, saying enough precautions were in place.

Speaking at a news conference broadcast live on Beijing television, Wang called for calm, saying "the panic and fear factor among the general public is a really big issue for us."

Wang said the coming week would be "of critical importance" in monitoring the trend of the disease.

The mayor was appointed last week after his predecessor and the health minister were sacked amid accusations over mishandling of the outbreak. Worries about the disease prompted thousands of people to flee the capital last week.

The Health Ministry reported Wednesday nine new fatalities in Beijing and two elsewhere, raising the capital's death toll to 75 and the total for the mainland to 159. The ministry said there were 101 new infections in Beijing, raising its total to 1,448.

"The situation in Beijing remains severe for Sars prevention and treatment. Infections have not yet been cut off. Numbers of confirmed and suspected Sars cases remain high," Wang said in a written statement.

"Due to a shortage of berths at designated hospitals, not all suspected Sars patients can be hospitalized there in a timely manner."

The city has designated 21 hospitals to handle Sars cases, Wang's statement said. It didn't say how the suspected cases that weren't hospitalized were being handled.

A new 1,000–bed Sars facility north of Beijing was to receive its first 195 patients on Wednesday, Wang said. It was built in eight days by an army of 7,000 construction workers.

The mayor said it was still too early to say when emergency measures, such as school closures, would be lifted, but he added that officials might have a better idea in the next few days.

The Beijing government has also ordered cinemas and other entertainment sites to close. Thousands of people have been quarantined, companies have closed temporarily and many families are staying at home.

Nationwide, the upcoming May Day vacation week has been cut short and the government has banned travel agencies from taking tourists out of their home provinces.

Wang promised to redouble anti–Sars efforts, adding more hospital beds and bringing in doctors and nurses from outside Beijing. He said he would set aside an office near his own for experts from the World Health Organization.

The city has spent 400 million yuan (US$50 million) on anti–Sars efforts, Wang said. Companies and private donors have contributed 70 million yuan (US$8.5 million), he said.

Wang denied rumors that authorities were planning to seal off the capital – a city of 13 million people – or dust it from the air at night with anti–Sars medications.

"We haven't made any such decisions," he told reporters. "There is no issue of sealing off the city, according to the present situation."

Rumors that martial law might be declared or that Beijing might be closed spread last week after police roadblocks were set up to check people in vehicles for Sars symptoms and the city said it would seal off buildings or areas with infections.

The city has "segregated" 8,924 people who might have been exposed to the virus, according to a city government statement issued overnight Tuesday.

That includes students who are quarantined in dormitories at two universities, Wang said. He said they were still in good health.

"For college or university students, we still advise them to stay on campus," the mayor said at the news conference,

Other sealed–off areas include six apartment buildings and a dormitory attached to a hospital at Peking University, according to the city government statement.

Wang tried to assure the public about the accuracy of government announcements about Sars, saying anyone who tried to cover up information "will be dealt with severely."

But he wouldn't say whether Beijing officials who have been accused of concealing information earlier might be prosecuted.