Beijing officials have sealed off a third hospital as they try to contain the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
Some college dormitories were also closed, and about 4,000 people who might have been exposed to the virus were ordered to stay at home under quarantine.
The closure of the Ditan Hospital in northern Beijing came less than two weeks after foreign reporters were allowed to tour the facility, officially touted then as a showcase of the government's SARS preparedness.
It was not clear how many patients and staff were in the hospital - which has 500 beds and 643 staff. Visitors could not enter Ditan, but medical staff were allowed to leave the hospital, which specialises in infectious diseases.Ditan is the second hospital to be quarantined this week.The People's Hospital of Peking University was shut down yesterday, and on April 9th, officials shut down the People's Armed Police General Hospital after staff members fell ill with SARS.
Dormitories at the Northern Jiaotong University and the Central University of Finance and Economics have also been closed off, affecting 600 students.
So far, the Health Ministry has reported 42 SARS deaths in Beijing and a total death toll of 115 nationwide.
Inspection teams are being sent to 147 city hospitals to ensure that they were following guidelines on handling potential SARS cases. In Shanghai, special SARS inspection teams are checking vehicles at every toll gate near the city's border.
AP