Health officials warned today there would be no quick resolution to the SARS epidemic gripping the Chinese capital of Beijing.
"In the past 10 days, the epidemic in Beijing has been kept at a high plateau," Mr Liang Wannian, deputy director of the Beijing health department, said at a media conference.
He added that in his personal judgment the present high plateau of the number of cases in Beijing will continue for a period of time.
Since the government admitted last month to covering up the extent of the epidemic, the city has clocked 100 or so new Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) cases each day.
Another 96 people were confirmed as having the virus in Beijing today leaving the capital with 1,636 infected patients. Beijing also recorded nine more deaths among 181 nationwide and has now seen 91 people die from the disease.
Mr Liang said although he believed the number of cases would fall, he could not predict a precise timeframe "because we don't know a lot about the disease".
For example, he said, it was still not clear if the disease was transmitted through the digestive tract, such as in faecal matter, as well as the respiratory tract.
He added that as time went by, an increasing number of people would become immune to the disease, thus forming a "group immunity" that would shield the vulnerable.
AFP