The Chinese government has allocated 50 million yuan (6.25 million
US dollars) from the state budget to reinforce the fight against
severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the Ministry of Finance
announced Thursday.
China's northern provinces of Hebei and Shanxi and Inner Mongolia
Autonomous Region had received 10 million yuan each, and the
Municipality of Tianjin 20 million yuan.
The special subsidy allocation would be used to cover the medical
expanses of rural probable and suspected SARS patients, and urban
SARS patients facing financial difficulties, said a ministry
spokesman.
The money would also cover the costs of restructuring fever clinics
of county hospitals in underdeveloped regions and the purchase of
badly needed medical facilities.
It
was the fourth allocation within a month from China's state budget
to finance local anti-SARS activities, said the spokesman,
revealing the total special subsidies amounted to 440 million
yuan.
The number of new SARS cases in China had eased, but the situation
remained critical, said the spokesman, noting that China would pay
close attention to the development of local SARS situations and
subsidize local measures against the disease.
(Xinhua News Agency May 23, 2003)
