The 1,097 medical staff are among an army of doctors, nurses and others who have been put under intense physical and psychological pressure treating patients suffering from severe acute respiratory syndrome.

Mr Cai Fuchao, director of the propaganda department of Beijing's Communist Party committee, told a news conference: 'We've arranged for accommodations and temporary recuperation for 1,097 medical workers.'

The city has designated 74 hotels, guest houses, resorts and staff training centres to house the workers during the recuperation period, he said.

He suggested that giving them time off would help ensure lower infection rates among medical workers.

He said 280 medical workers have already been placed on short, two-day recuperation leave and several hundred others would follow in the near future.

He did not say what the workers would be allowed to do during their rest period.

Health workers make up 17.66 per cent -- or 335 -- of the 1,897 confirmed Sars cases in the capital. Many medical workers have not been able to see their families to avoid spreading the disease.

They have also been working overtime and have faced an increased workload after support staff quit in droves, according to state media.

Beijing has 32,000 registered doctors and 34,000 registered nurses, who are among a total of 160,000 medical workers in the city, including support staff. -- AFP