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CNN Live At Daybreak
Chinese Health Officials Believe They've Made Progress in Fighting SARS
Aired May 09, 2003 - 05:39 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Chinese health officials believe they have made progress in fighting SARS.
Our Lisa Rose Weaver is following this and she joins us live on the phone from Beijing with details on that -- Lisa Rose, hello.
LISA ROSE WEAVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.
Well, yes, there are, according to new figures nationwide, 118 new cases of SARS and six deaths. That is lower than yesterday, but it's maintaining a pattern of about more than 100 cases every day, and that's been the case for the past three weeks since health authorities admitted to having under reported SARS cases previously.
Now, a little bit of good news. Only 48 of the 118 new cases were in Beijing. That's less than half. Earlier today, Beijing officials were sounding confident that reduced numbers in the SARS outbreak in the capital might be around the corner.
They cited fewer people have been at the hospital each day, decreasing in the past week compared with a couple of weeks ago. But at the same time, and at the same time, there are more hospitals that are designated to deal with SARS patients. So there are more resources to deal with sick people in Beijing.
Still, the World Health Organization is warning that SARS is far from over nationwide and that it's too early to tell the direction, really, that this disease is taking.
World Health Organization officials are today inspecting Hubei Province that borders Beijing to track what's happening with SARS there. That's a relevant place for them to go, Daryn, because there are lots of migrant workers living in Hubei who have returned home from Beijing. Hubei's SARS cases on record are from those people who were working in the capital and have since gone home.
So it's an important way to track how the disease might be spreading in the countryside, which is a big concern here in China.
Now, World Health Organization plans to review the system of surveillance and case reporting in that province and, as well, to evaluate hospital management and infection control. Next week, the delegation will visit Hunan Province. That's also in northern China. That is significant because AIDS is widespread there and researchers want to see how SARS affects people whose immune systems are already under attack by another disease -- Daryn. KAGAN: Interesting studies coming up there.
Lisa Rose, as you were saying off the top of your report, the Chinese officials were hardly forthcoming or completely honest with numbers when this was starting to break out. I'm wondering how their credibility is among the Chinese people at this point.
WEAVER: Well, there seems to be a fairly reasonable level of credibility now because numbers are coming out every day from the Ministry of Health. And Chinese officialdom seems to have gone on a campaign to be more open. There are some questions about what the figures mean based on how many of them are really new cases and how many may have been old cases that are filtering into the system. The World Health Organization says it is getting more raw data from the Chinese, but that it needs more, and more detail to more accurately track the disease.
Now, people I've spoken to on the streets of Beijing are pretty quick to say that they believe the government has this under control. That's what's said publicly.
Privately, many people have left the capital. Those who feel under some kind of a threat have not, in all cases, listened to directives to stay put and they have tried to flee home -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Lisa Rose Weaver bringing us the latest on SARS from Beijing.
Appreciate that report.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Fighting SARS>
Aired May 9, 2003 - 05:39 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Chinese health officials believe they have made progress in fighting SARS.
Our Lisa Rose Weaver is following this and she joins us live on the phone from Beijing with details on that -- Lisa Rose, hello.
LISA ROSE WEAVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.
Well, yes, there are, according to new figures nationwide, 118 new cases of SARS and six deaths. That is lower than yesterday, but it's maintaining a pattern of about more than 100 cases every day, and that's been the case for the past three weeks since health authorities admitted to having under reported SARS cases previously.
Now, a little bit of good news. Only 48 of the 118 new cases were in Beijing. That's less than half. Earlier today, Beijing officials were sounding confident that reduced numbers in the SARS outbreak in the capital might be around the corner.
They cited fewer people have been at the hospital each day, decreasing in the past week compared with a couple of weeks ago. But at the same time, and at the same time, there are more hospitals that are designated to deal with SARS patients. So there are more resources to deal with sick people in Beijing.
Still, the World Health Organization is warning that SARS is far from over nationwide and that it's too early to tell the direction, really, that this disease is taking.
World Health Organization officials are today inspecting Hubei Province that borders Beijing to track what's happening with SARS there. That's a relevant place for them to go, Daryn, because there are lots of migrant workers living in Hubei who have returned home from Beijing. Hubei's SARS cases on record are from those people who were working in the capital and have since gone home.
So it's an important way to track how the disease might be spreading in the countryside, which is a big concern here in China.
Now, World Health Organization plans to review the system of surveillance and case reporting in that province and, as well, to evaluate hospital management and infection control. Next week, the delegation will visit Hunan Province. That's also in northern China. That is significant because AIDS is widespread there and researchers want to see how SARS affects people whose immune systems are already under attack by another disease -- Daryn. KAGAN: Interesting studies coming up there.
Lisa Rose, as you were saying off the top of your report, the Chinese officials were hardly forthcoming or completely honest with numbers when this was starting to break out. I'm wondering how their credibility is among the Chinese people at this point.
WEAVER: Well, there seems to be a fairly reasonable level of credibility now because numbers are coming out every day from the Ministry of Health. And Chinese officialdom seems to have gone on a campaign to be more open. There are some questions about what the figures mean based on how many of them are really new cases and how many may have been old cases that are filtering into the system. The World Health Organization says it is getting more raw data from the Chinese, but that it needs more, and more detail to more accurately track the disease.
Now, people I've spoken to on the streets of Beijing are pretty quick to say that they believe the government has this under control. That's what's said publicly.
Privately, many people have left the capital. Those who feel under some kind of a threat have not, in all cases, listened to directives to stay put and they have tried to flee home -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Lisa Rose Weaver bringing us the latest on SARS from Beijing.
Appreciate that report.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Fighting SARS>
