Since mid-April, SARS cases on China's mainland had surged and then dropped dramatically, said Rao Keqin, an epidemic analyst with the SARS analysis team under the Ministry of Health (MOH).

"New cases of the disease keep falling steadily," said Rao.

MOH statistics show that in the past five days, the Chinese mainland reported a daily average of 32 clinically confirmed cases and 80 suspected cases.

Compared with the peak day, the confirmed cases in this period had dropped by 84 percent, and suspected cases were down 76 percent, MOH figures show.

"Generally speaking, the dramatic decrease in SARS cases indicates that China has made notable achievements in the prevention and treatment of the epidemic," Rao said.

"However, local governments must take particular precautions against rebounds in the disease, since rural migrant workers and students are inclined to move about more actively these days," he said.

On May 19, the Chinese mainland reported a total of 12 new confirmed cases and five deaths.

The disease had proceeded in three stages since mid-April, said Rao.

In the first phase, which ran from mid-April to April 29, China saw a sharp increase in the outbreak of the flu-like virus.

On April 28, the number of confirmed cases peaked at 203 on the Chinese mainland.

The second phase, from April 30 to May 13, featured fluctuating falls, with daily reported confirmed SARS cases dropping from over 200 to about 80.

The third phase, from May 13, saw steady falls in the outbreak of the disease. On May 19, the daily figure dropped to a record low of 12 cases, said Rao.

(Xinhua News Agency May 20, 2003)