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Secretary for Home Affairs, Dr Patrick Ho, is pleased to learn that the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong, has had a good meeting with the Irish Minister for Health, Mr Michael Martin, in Geneva today (May 20) to update the Minister on the latest SARS situation in Hong Kong.
Dr Ho made a request to Dr Yeoh yesterday to re-state the Government's position on the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games to the Irish delegation attending the World Health Assembly in Switzerland.
Dr Ho said Dr Yeoh had briefed the Irish Minister on the various measures Hong Kong had taken to contain the spread of SARS.
The Special Representative for Hong Kong Economic and Trade Affairs to the European Communities, Mr Chris Jackson, arrived in Dublin today to have meetings with Irish Government officials on the matter.
Dr Ho said it was important to let the Irish health authorities have a true picture of the SARS situation in Hong Kong so that they could re-visit their decision of requesting Hong Kong not to send a delegation to the summer games to be held in Dublin next month.
Dr Ho had earlier invited the Irish SARS expert group to have a video conference with medical experts in Hong Kong to have an update of the SARS situation in the territory.
"If the Irish authorities have the opportunity to be briefed by Hong Kong experts, they will know that we have done our level best to contain the spread of the disease and that our Special Olympics team will also take stringent precautionary measures before departure.
"The Irish authorities' decision is unnecessary and unreasonable. It is also unfair to our athletes, who have trained so hard for a long time for the games," he said.
End/Tuesday, May 20, 2003
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