CHINA OWNS UP TO SARS

Holly Williamsová z Pekingu: In an unusual move in this authoritarian state, the government admitted to under-reporting the number of SARS patients. Today's figures take the new official total to well over four hundred. Beijing's SARS nightmare has increased more than ten-fold in just twenty-four hours. Belatedly, after months of playing down the epidemic, China has signalled a drastic new approach to SARS, sacking Beijing's mayor and dismissing the health minister from his Communist Party job as punishment for the cover-up. China says it wants health officials to come clean about SARS and this sudden new jump in reported infections seems to indicate that the message is getting through. VOCABULARYunder-reporting the number of patients - přiznat nižší počet onemocnění to play down - zlehčovat vážnost situace cover-up - ukrývání skutečnosti to come clean - vyjít s pravdou ven (otevřený přístup) the message is getting through - záměr se podařilo prosadit Dick Thompson - mluvčí Světové zdravotnické organizace: The first step in containing any outbreak is to know where it is and what the size of the problem is you're confronting. But now we're getting a better idea of where it is and we know what we're facing, and I think that it can be contained. But China's the big question mark. If this disease is going to remain with us forever we'll know that first from China. VOCABULARYconfronting the problem - čelit, potýkat se to contain an outbreak - zastavit šíření, zamezit propuknutí we know what we're facing - víme, čemu čelíme the big question mark - velká neznámá