Press Releases

Transcript of Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

Following is the transcript of the remarks by the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr. Yeoh Eng-kiong, at a stand-up press session on the lifting of travel advisory against HKSAR today (May 23):

Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food: I just want to explain about the whole process. We started the process in depth discussing with the World Health Organisation (WHO) travel advisory at the ASEAN + 3 meeting in Thailand. We met with Dr David Heymann to explain our control measures and what the situation it was like in Hong Kong. Since then every week we had a video conference with Dr. Heymann and his team. When I went to the World Health Assembly just on Sunday, we met with Dr Heymann and the Regional Director Dr Shigeru Omi to tell them about the most updated position. I also met with them on Tuesday before I left, to revise the position and to ask the WHO because that has been very encouraging about the measures we were taking, that has been very encouraging that our figures have come down to single digit numbers. But as you know that we have not totally met the criteria. So in the Tuesday meeting, I again asked in relation to the numbers of cases with active treatment, and to seek clarification with the WHO on the definition of active treatment. So, on the basis of what we understood from WHO on the active treatment that we came back to look at our cases. And of the 140-odd cases that we have, that reported as under active treatment, you will notice that in fact last night we did an analysis that 77 per cent were admitted before May 8. So most of our patients were really long staying patients that have been there for a long time. And many patients in fact were continuing to be supported in because they were not active for treatment. Some of them were being treated for other illnesses because many patients were admitted to hospital for other reasons such as heart diseases, some patients have cancers, they were still in hospitals not for treatment for SARS but for continuing treatment for their original illness. We also have some patients who were continuing to be supported intensive care but they had really worked quite stable. But we have also had a lot of patients who met with the WHO criteria of convalescing because the WHO criteria of convalescing is that if the patient does not have fever for 48 hours, there is improvement in the X-ray chest in pneumonia, and there is improvement in the blood counts and other improvements. Then these should be the criteria of convalescing. So yesterday we asked all of our colleagues in the hospitals to report back on the nature of the cases. And it was quite coincidental that we came to have the figure of 59. We did not need to have come up with the figure because the WHO has already said that the number can in fact be juggled. The other criteria which we did not completely meet was to able to link up all the previous cases to identify the source of infection. As reported before, in Hong Kong to the epidemic of these 1 400-odd cases, we have been able to account for 91.3 per cent of all the cases. There were 8.7 per cent that we could not trace the source of infection. But we were also able to demonstrate that of these 8.7 per cent, 57 per cent were not due to the coronavirus that causes SARS because there is a lot of background pneumonia which can be very confusing. So it meant that there are about four per cent of the cases that cannot be accounted for the mode of transmission. The WHO has accepted in an outbreak, you cannot account for a 100 per cent of the cases to contact tracing. But I think we have done very well in our contact tracing because our contact tracing system is a very advanced one and has been admired by every one in the world. So we have very good success contact tracing but not 100 per cent. But we were able to demonstrate in the last two weeks as the number of cases has decreased, we have been able to account for the contacts of the cases in the last two weeks. At least we know where they got the infection. So I believe that these were the two reasons that led to the decision of the WHO to lift the travel advisory because I think we have met all the criteria, at least we convinced them that we have met the criteria. So these were the discussions today. And in fact we liaised with the WHO last night and this afternoon before the meeting to explain the information and to see whether there were any concerns.

Reporter: (inaudible)

Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food : Obviously it is. The decision of the WHO as I always said has been based on objective criteria. And those three criteria are, they look at the magnitude of the outbreak. And of course the magnitude of the outbreak is the number of new cases. There is a very, very explicit figure of three cases in the last three days and we have to achieve that the below five cases, to the last three days or so . The number of cases on active treatment as defined by WHO should be less than 60 and the third criteria is to be able to link up the transmission route. So I think those are the very objective criteria.

Reporter: (Inaudible)

Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food: I welcome the WHO's decision. As Mr Tung has said, I think we need to work towards our ultimate objective of eliminating the SARS related coronavirus in Hong Kong. And to be able to do that, we need to make sure that we have no cases and the requirement usually is that we have no cases for two incubation periods, that is, in 20 days. But that requires the joint efforts of everyone in the community. It requires good personal hygiene, good environmental hygiene. And when people are ill and have fever, they should really protect people around them by wearing masks and by seeing a doctor. And for the residents who are in the present case in Lek Yuen Estate where they fear the environment in the housing estate, if any of the citizens there prompt come back and go to the Department of Health clinic to be assessed. So anyone with fever they should always be alert that that is the first sign of SARS.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript)

End/Friday, May 23, 2003
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