Beijing in the Time of SARS

On Wednesday, rumors emerged that Beijing would soon be under martial law. My school closed and my spirits fell—why be in Beijing if I couldn’t study? Beijing’s universities began closing their gates, effectively quarantining their populations on-campus. Some continued to offer classes, some did not. Taxis stopped driving non-mask wearers. Many small shops began to close their doors. Suddenly 70-80 percent of pedestrians were wearing masks. Rumors of the disease’s source abounded. The shuttle disaster? Biological weapons? The Americans trying to stifle China’s economy? Some rumors were more bizarre than others.

Then came news that at least 800 people in Beijing had the virus and as many as 75 had died. People began again to wonder about the government cover up. Road blocks stopped people leaving the city and entering it. But most people have been allowed to continue on their way. Some public places have been closed only to re-open the next day. People have bought up all the staples in stores, but they’ve been replenished nightly—no food crisis. News that the city has had helicopters spraying disinfectant at night seem only to be rumors, but a rumor most people believe. I’ve even heard people say that it isn’t disinfectant, but pesticide—maybe the disease is really borne in flees and bugs. What is certainly not a rumor is that as late as Thursday of last week, a Beijing hospital put 50-100 of its worst SARS cases in a bus and a neighboring hotel during a WHO visit to the hospital. Clearly the full story has not yet come out.

Now, a week since the government “came clean,” none of the universities (that I know of—word of mouth is generally how news travels about these things as the China Daily doesn’t like to print such discouraging news) are holding classes; all elementary and most secondary schools are closed. Two major hospitals, including Beijing People’s University hospital, have been completely closed off and quarantined. The Chinese are building a 1000 person temporary hospital north of the city, to be finished in ten days’ construction time. But, the most interesting things have been happening in the streets.

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