Dateline: BEIJINGVolunteers and officials handed out "spit bags" and tissue packets in Beijing Sunday, intensifying a public health campaign aimed at preventing the spread of SARS in the hard-hit capital, where tens of thousands of people remain under quarantine.
Lottery ticket vendors were to distribute 15,000 spit bags to customers, while volunteers in the Haidian district, where most schools are located, handed out 8,000, the Beijing Evening News reported.
Gobs of saliva are a common sight on the streets of Beijing, where at least 167 people have died of severe acute respiratory syndrome and almost 2,500 people have been infected. People in China also often blow their noses without using tissues.
Warning that spit might spread the virus that causes SARS, Beijing and other cities have increased fines, sent sanitation workers out on patrol and stepped up publicity in yet another attempt to banish the long-standing habit of spitting in public places.
The spit bags, about 10 centimeters (4 inches) wide and 17 centimeters (6.7 inches) long, are white and lined with plastic to prevent leakage, the Beijing Daily said.
Slogans such as "Pay attention to hygiene _ starting from me" and "If you spit into the bag, the streets won't be stained" are written on them.
In April, the city raised the fine for spitting in public from 5 yuan (US$0.60) to 50 yuan (US$6).
The measure comes a day after Beijing government spokesman Cai Fuchao said the city was experiencing a "notable downward trend" in the disease. On Sunday, the city accounted for 13 of the mainland's 16 new cases of infections and four of seven new deaths.
Overall, Beijing, the hardest-hit city in the world, accounts for roughly half of China's 5,316 SARS cases and 315 deaths.
The city has been gradually returning to normal after virtually shutting down due to SARS fears, although traffic remains light and cinemas, discos and Internet cafes remain closed for the time being. Cai said such venues pose a particular risk because of their frequent turnover of customers, he said.
More than 28,500 people are still under quarantine in Beijing, the city's foreign affairs office said in a statement.
Cai said Beijing was redoubling work to curb SARS among migrant workers after they became the largest single group of new cases in the city. State-run newspapers reported Sunday that the government was requiring migrants returning from the countryside to undergo health checks.
Most migrants are seasonal workers from China's vast hinterland who live in workers' dormitories or rented rooms and have limited access to clean water and sanitation.
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