Wearing a thick white face mask, He Yu, a girl student of English at prestigious Beijing University, hurried to her hometown on April 19 when severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) peaked suddenly in the Chinese capital.
But with the epidemic waning in Beijing, she feels lonely at home and is anxious to return to her university.
China reported just 12 new SARS cases Monday, with seven cases in Beijing, the lowest daily figures since April 20, when the government ordered honest reporting of the case number of the deadly flu-like virus. It was the first time that the number of cases in Beijing hit a single-digit number since the end of April.
Urbanites in Harbin, the capital of the northernmost province of Heilongjiang, are leading a normal life as usual. In the two weeks following April 20, they were afraid to go to public places when they learned the high number of SARS cases and deaths in China, but now the streets, shops and buses resume normal operations and are full of people again, few of whom wear face masks.
Altogether four SARS cases have been so far diagnosed in Heilongjiang province.
Hu Tao, a senior at Heilongjiang University said, "Our government has taken a series of prompt, efficient measures to cure the infected patients and stem the spread of SARS. In the beginning I felt a little nervous, but now my life has returned to normal and I am confident that China can overcome the epidemic."
April 20 was a turning point in China's war on SARS disease when Zhang Wenkang, Chinese health minister, and Meng Xuenong, Beijing mayor, were sacked. From that day, the whole country came to know the serious situation caused by SARS and took every means to cope with the ferocious epidemic.
President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have frequently visited hospitals, streets, shops, factories, villages, and colleges and universities or held meetings to call for all the Chinese people to fight against the deadly SARS.
"I hope that you will go on doing your work well with high loyalty to the people and exert your best to safeguard the people's health and lives," Hu Jintao, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, told doctors and nurses at a town hospital in southwestern China's Sichuan province on May 11. "I believe that we are sure to defeat SARS eventually through your dedicated work and all Chinese people's strenuous efforts."
Premier Wen Jiabao reaffirmed at a Cabinet meeting on May 15 that local governments have to set up emergency headquarters, designated SARS hospitals and disease data collection networks.
"No individual or administration will be allowed to tamper with or delay the reporting of information," Wen said.
Doctors and nurses are curing and caring for patients although they know clearly that some of them may be infected by the persistent epidemic and that some actually have died of it.
They are honored by the public with the titles of "Angels in White" and "The Most Revered and Beloved People".
Wang Bin, the head of a small restaurant in Harbin said, "Every time I watch on television the doctors and nurses with thick protective clothes and face masks who are taking risks to rescue patients afflicted by SARS and who can't go home for weeks, I am deeply moved. They are really brave and respected."
Officials at all levels now are sparing no effort to handle SARS, while the media are busy introducing helpful SARS-related information to the public.
Nearly 200 officials have been punished over the past month for underreporting or covering up the extent of the SARS outbreak or failing to prevent the spread of the virus. An official of the CPC Organization Department cited this as the first time so many officials had been penalized over one affair.
Inspiring changes have taken place throughout China, making most Chinese convinced that they can achieve a final victory in the combat against SARS.
It was decided that Beijing's elementary and middle schools with 1.37 million students would begin class batch by batch gradually beginning this Thursday after a one-month closure due to the SARS outbreak. Beijing is the hardest-hit city in the world with 150 deaths and more than 2,400 cases.
The restaurant manager Wang Bin in Harbin said, "You know when people first heard of the terrible SARS virus, they were really scared and dared not have dinner in restaurants at all. But now more and more people come to my restaurant again."
"However, I think my restaurant won't pick up its formerly brisk business until the epidemic is eradicated," Wang added. "I think it will take a rather long time."
The middle-aged Wang even asked the media to make an appeal to the public that every one should adopt a healthy lifestyle, do more physical exercises and not spit randomly.
The Helongjiang University student, Hu Tao, is resented to the few reports on China's SARS by some foreign media.
"They have showed their great discrimination against China in their coverage of SARS disease, exaggerating problems to the neglect of achievements."
She was especially indignant with the coverage of the May 5 Asian edition of Time magazine, on which a transparent Chinese national flag, namely the five-star red flag held in esteem by all Chinese, overlays a picture of an X-rayed chest of a patient infected by SARS. The magazine called China "SARS Nation".
"The magazine is so vicious. It hasn't reported anything about China's heroic war on SARS objectively at all and has hurt my national feelings deeply."
He Yu, the Beijing University student, has always been paying close attention to the SARS epidemic in Beijing.
"The situation in Beijing has improved remarkably these days. I think I can return to my beautiful and lovely university and see my beloved classmates pretty soon," she said.
(Xinhua News Agency May 21, 2003)
