The respiratory disease wards with two hospitals in Beijing were
announced to be lifted out of isolation on Thursday as no new cases
of SARS infection have ever been found after two weeks'
isolation.
Flanked by flowers, 159 medical workers, in-patients and
helpers, all smiling, unveiled face and walked out of the strictly
quarantined sections at Jiangong Hospital and at Renmin Hospital
affiliated to the Peking
University.
On April 2, a nurse surnamed Li from Jiangong Hospital of
Beijing was diagnosed to have contracted the severe acute
respiratory syndrome (SARS) while receiving medical treatment at
the ICU of Renmin Hospital.
To prevent SARS spreading, the Beijing municipal health
authorities on the same day ordered isolation of the respiratory
diseases wards with the both hospitals where the nurse used to seek
medical treatment. And people who have had close contacts with the
nurse were also put under strict medical surveillance and
epidemiological investigation.
Jin Dapeng, head of the Beijing municipal administration for
public health, said when the isolation was in place, all
in-patients with the two hospitals were asked to take temperature
on a daily basis.
And disease control workers carefully treated specimens
collected from the nurse for medical observation and thoroughly
disinfected all the infected places so that no new cases of SARS
infection have happened at the two hospitals.
According to Jin, the nurse, the first diagnosed SARS patient in
Beijing this spring, was been discharged from hospital on Wednesday
after having fully recovered from the diseases.
The two hospitals will soon resume normal medical service,
scientific research and teaching work after a thorough
disinfection, said Jin.
(Xinhua News Agency May 6, 2004)