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One way of doing justice to those who have suffered or who have lost the ones they love is to offer their very best to be sure that such situation does not happen again, Sir Cyril Chantler, co-chairperson of the SARS Expert Committee, said today (October 3).
Addressing a luncheon meeting at the Foreign Correspondents' Club, Sir Cyril said the experts would do their best to put the 46 recommendations in the report to enhance the preparedness of Hong Kong against SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). The report was presented to the Chief Executive yesterday and released simultaneously to the public.
The two co-chairpersons of the SARS Expert Committee, Sir Cyril and Professor Sian Griffiths, and two local members, Professor Rosie Young and Professor Lee Shiu-hung had agreed to join a monitoring committee to oversee the implementation of recommendations.
Also speaking at the same occasion, Prof Griffiths explained a Centre for Health Protection was proposed instead of recommending a Hong Kong Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) because what Hong Kong needed was a central point for which there were appropriate outbreak control plans, and there were appropriate plans for the surge capacity.
"What you need in Hong Kong is something appropriate to a city state of approximately seven million people," she said, adding that CDC in Atlanta, United States was for a larger federal government.
The two co-chairpersons and the two local members continued their busy schedule today to explain the findings and recommendations of the report to the public through media interviews and forums.
In these meetings, they briefed the medical faculties of the two universities as well as some 50 representatives from the health care sector, patients right groups and Amoy Gardens owner's committee on the findings and recommendations of the report. They met with over 110 staff members from the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau, Department of Health, Hospital Authority and Social Welfare Department to explain details of the findings.
The full and summary reports of the SARS Expert Committee are accessible on the committee's website at http://www.sars-expertcom.gov.hk. Over 100,000 copies of the summary reports are available for collection at all district offices.
End/Friday, October 3, 2003
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