The 'Double 100' programme will be carried out over the next three to five years, officials said yesterday, as a tribute to overseas Chinese who have donated more than one billion yuan (S$197 million) since the magnitude-8 quake hit on May 12.

'We are very grateful to overseas Chinese groups, who have shown that blood is thicker than water by reacting promptly and generously with their donations,' said Mr Ma Rupei, deputy head of the overseas Chinese affairs office in China. 'We have in fact already kick-started the construction of 30 primary schools and 30 hospitals.'

Overseas Chinese communities, he noted in a media briefing yesterday, donated 68.5 million yuan in cash and relief material on May 13 - just one day after the quake. The total sum stood at 1.13 billion yuan as of June 1.

He declined to confirm if buildings would be named after donors, though he acknowledged that there have been 'specific' requests.

'We will respect and fulfil the wishes of donors who have made specific requests, while non-specific donations will be used towards relief work where required,' he said.

In all, official figures showed, domestic and foreign donations have swelled to 41.74 billion yuan, about a quarter of which has been dispatched to the earthquake-hit zone.

The quake has killed 69,019 people as of noon yesterday, and 18,627 others are still missing.

More than five million people have been left homeless. While more than 712,000 tents have been sent to the affected areas, they are still well short of the estimated 3.3 million needed.

As temperatures under the makeshift shelters could hit as high as 37 deg C, China's National Meteorological Centre warned quake victims to guard against heatstroke.

On a more positive note, officials said yesterday that no major epidemics have been found in the disaster zone, despite initial fears of contaminated water and an outbreak of the hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD).

'We have the ability and the confidence to guarantee that after the disaster, there will be no epidemics,' Health Ministry spokesman Mao Qunan said in an online discussion with netizens on www.gov.cn

He said bodies of quake victims had been buried well and would not contaminate water sources, with the authorities digging deep pits and sterilising the corpses before they buried them.

But he cautioned: 'As time goes by, the major killers of patients are multiple organ failure and complicated drug-resistance infection.'

The ministry has used 220 million yuan worth of medical products so far, including 1,898 tonnes of disinfectants.

Most of the medical workers in the disaster area now are physicians and skin disease experts, Mr Mao said. When the quake first struck, the medical personnel were mostly surgeons.

More than 200 psychologists and medical workers have also been posted to Sichuan to provide counselling, he said.

vincec@sph.com.sg