<<VOA NEWS,2003/4/21>>
FOR the Chinese government, downplaying the SARS epidemic in the hope that the problem would just go away has proved to be a spectacularly unsuccessful policy. As the disease continues to spread around the world, particularly in Asia, Beijing has been forced to admit, after weeks of dissembling, that it grossly under-reported the number of SARS cases in the country. As allegations that officials tried to hide the extent of the disease grew louder, even in China's usually docile state media, the government cancelled the week-long May Day holiday, to discourage people from travelling and spreading SARS, and sacked the health minister and the mayor of Beijing for negligence.

On April 20th, the Chinese government raised the official number of SARS cases in the country tenfold, to 339, and admitted that there may be hundreds more victims in hospitals or languishing at home. Already, 86 people have died in China, out of a worldwide death toll of around 210. Wen Jiabao, China's premier, said the health system was so inadequate an epidemic could spread “before we know it” and “the consequences could be too dreadful to contemplate”. The World Health Organisation (WHO) said China may be facing a “very big outbreak” in the countryside, where resources are severely limited and where 70% of China's 1.3 billion people live. At the weekend, the government pledged more than $100m for disease control in the poorest provinces. Mr Wen has called for an overhaul of the system for dealing with public medical emergencies. The government has, belatedly, ordered a campaign to scrub down planes, trains, buses, taxis and office blocks, and posters have been plastered around city streets calling on people to wash their hands after wiping their noses and keep masks handy.