Chinese and international health officials emphasize that vigilance is needed.
"We're in a SARS era now," said Alan Schnur, a Beijing-based representative WHO representative.
In Beijing, that vigilance appears in small but telling ways.
Taxis, buses and other public areas are still being disinfected, although less frequently. Spitting is much rarer than it used to be. At the GL Cafe, a Hong Kong-style restaurant in Beijing, a dispenser filled with hand-sanitizing alcohol rub has been installed at the front door next to a sign: "Keeping clean is the responsibility of you and me."
"The sanitizer is very popular," said a cashier who would give only her family name, Li. "It's hard to tell if SARS will come back. But if it does, what's the use of being scared?"
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