The evaluation was based on figures released by the Health Ministry on Thursday which revealed Beijing had had more than 1,500 cases and 82 deaths, it said.

"Since April 21, the number of SARS patients in Beijing has entered the peak period," Liang Wannian, deputy director general of Beijing Municipal Health Bureau, told a televised news conference.

"My personal judgment is the present high plateau of the number of cases in Beijing will continue for a period of time. Overall the situation in Beijing is stable, and the upward trend has been effectively checked," he said.

Cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in the capital would likely drop in the next 10 days if the virus did not mutate and take the same course in the capital as it did in southern Guangdong province and Hong Kong, Liang added.

The SARS virus emerged in southern China last November before being spread around the world by travelers. It has killed 170 people in China and infected more than 3,600.

Worldwide it has killed nearly 400 people and infected more than 6,000.

The good news from the world's most populous country, which has been skewered by critics for its belated response to the virus, comes as millions stayed at home during a national holiday and China opened its biggest SARS hospital in northern Beijing.

The Xiaotangshan Hospital threw open its doors after more than 7,000 builders worked feverishly to erect the structure in just eight days.

Some of the 1,200 medical staff due from the military had arrived, and 156 SARS patients from 15 hospitals in urban areas in Beijing were moved into the hospital on Thursday evening.

(With additional reporting by Jonathan Ansfield and Kevin Yao)