Suddenly, China's capital is confronting the reality of the SARS virus. A week ago, city officials said officials said they were controlling the spread of the new and mysterious lung ailment, severe acute respiration syndrome. China's state-run media cranked out reports guaranteeing that it was safe to travel during the May holiday season. But in the past two days, under the weight of international condemnation for not dealing seriously with the disease, authorities have changed focus. The state council, China's cabinet, is now devoting"100 percent" of its time to the epidemic, a government source said. One department of the Finance Ministry was closed after an official there came down with the virus, another source said. The closure has caused backlogs in money transfers from the central government to the province.
