The municipal government of Beijing announced on Wednesday the establishment of a news release system for public health information. This is an active move that will help Beijingers prepare for any possible resurgence of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) this winter.

A recent sudden temperature drop in most areas of China has alerted people that there could be a comeback of the fatal disease.

Experts agreed that the virus, which was first found in South China's Guangdong Province last November would not likely die out of itself. Hopefully, it won't come back. Yet with better awareness of the disease, we can keep any recurrence to a minimum. The hard-won victory in the fight against SARS in early summer has offered valuable lessons.

Besides co-ordinated actions among different departments and a properly functioning emergency response mechanism, transparency of information is also necessary in dealing with any public crisis.

A lack of access to public health information at the beginning of the SARS crisis led to rumours, panic and the rapid spread of the virus. It was when the government took resolute steps after the outbreak, sharing information with the public and ordering nationwide mobilization, that the situation was turned around.

Caught unprepared and trapped in the situation this spring, authorities are now trying to act quickly before any epidemic occurs.

On September 19, China's Ministry of Health resumed its practice of issuing daily reports on the number of SARS cases found in the country, as it did during the epidemic period. The central government has also stepped up warnings to local authorities against any new SARS outbreak.

With an open information mechanism promoted around the whole country, we are justified in expecting that there will be no repeat of the tragedy.

(China Daily 10/17/2003 page4)