Squads ready for Games threats

Source: Xinhua  |   2008-6-8  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

BEIJING authorities have set up 40 crack forces for fighting possible terrorism during the Beijing Olympics, the Beijing Times newspaper said yesterday.

The anti-terrorism teams, comprising 188 experts, will be on duty around the clock from July 1, the report said, quoting a Beijing municipal health bureau source.

Their major tasks are to respond to biological attacks, nuclear and other radioactive accidents, bombing, chemical accidents or spreading infections, the newspaper said.

The command and control headquarters in the municipal government has constructed a network for monitoring radioactive elements and inert gas leaks. Meanwhile, emergency rooms and outpatient desks in city wide hospitals will immediately report any cases related to severe infectious diseases, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and cholera, the newspaper reported.

The anti-terror teams are equipped with satellite communication vehicles, which will transmit live footage of any accident site to the headquarters and enable distance evaluation on any accident.

The municipal health bureau has set up contingency plans for public health threats and is expected to publicize a four-color threat alert system, with the color of red indicating the gravest threat, the newspaper said.

Health authorities in Hong Kong have held an inter-departmental exercise simulating a suspected food poisoning incident involving 24 sportsmen at the Olympic Village.

The scenario involved athletes developing symptoms including nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain after eating lunch at the Village.