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CNN Live At Daybreak
China's Fight Against SARS
Aired May 06, 2003 - 06:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Now to China's battle against SARS. The situation remains very grave. That is the ominous assessment from China's prime minister.
Our Beijing bureau chief, Jaime FlorCruz, joins us live now with the latest.
Good morning -- Jaime.
JAIME FLORCRUZ, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Carol.
Seventeen new SARS cases reported today in Beijing, pushing the total confirmed cases to nearly 2,000. That makes Beijing the epicenter of the SARS epidemic in the world.
Now, Beijing officials today for the first time revealed some details on the demographics of patients. Of the nearly 2,000 patients, over 70 percent of them are between the ages of 20 and 50 years old. Only very few are below, you know, the preschool age, and only nine are farmers. Of them, also eight are from overseas, including one who died, six have recovered, and one, an American, is recovering.
One troubling statistic: Of the 2,000 patients, nearly 27 percent are medical workers. That has put a strain on Beijing's medical care system, and that has prompted Beijing to dispatch some 1,200 doctors and nurses from China's military hospitals in other provinces to aid Beijing.
Now, officials have, in some places, especially in poorer places, have converted some office buildings and hospitals and even school buildings as ad-hoc quarantine areas. This has prompted protests among the local villagers. Some have even ransacked these buildings, and this has prompted officials to take good care of their own respective turfs -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Understand. Jaime FlorCruz live from Beijing, China this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired May 6, 2003 - 06:09 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Now to China's battle against SARS. The situation remains very grave. That is the ominous assessment from China's prime minister.
Our Beijing bureau chief, Jaime FlorCruz, joins us live now with the latest.
Good morning -- Jaime.
JAIME FLORCRUZ, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Carol.
Seventeen new SARS cases reported today in Beijing, pushing the total confirmed cases to nearly 2,000. That makes Beijing the epicenter of the SARS epidemic in the world.
Now, Beijing officials today for the first time revealed some details on the demographics of patients. Of the nearly 2,000 patients, over 70 percent of them are between the ages of 20 and 50 years old. Only very few are below, you know, the preschool age, and only nine are farmers. Of them, also eight are from overseas, including one who died, six have recovered, and one, an American, is recovering.
One troubling statistic: Of the 2,000 patients, nearly 27 percent are medical workers. That has put a strain on Beijing's medical care system, and that has prompted Beijing to dispatch some 1,200 doctors and nurses from China's military hospitals in other provinces to aid Beijing.
Now, officials have, in some places, especially in poorer places, have converted some office buildings and hospitals and even school buildings as ad-hoc quarantine areas. This has prompted protests among the local villagers. Some have even ransacked these buildings, and this has prompted officials to take good care of their own respective turfs -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Understand. Jaime FlorCruz live from Beijing, China this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
