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We need the cooperation of all the visitors to hospitals to make our infection control a success, the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong, said today (January 16).
After visiting the Prince of Wales Hospital (PWH) this afternoon, Dr Yeoh said he understood from some of the staff that they encountered difficulties in persuading some visitors to wear a mask or to follow the restriction on the number of visitors.
"Most of the visitors are very cooperative but some of them found it inconvenient to wear masks and wash hands before leaving the hospitals and had conflict with the staff.
"I would like to ask the public to be tolerant and to follow the recommendations. If you do visit a hospital, wear a mask. When you leave the ward, discard the mask properly and wash hands and to use rub.
"Cooperation from the public will help us in the overall control of infectious diseases," Dr Yeoh added.
Dr Yeoh visited PWH to understand the utilisation situation of medical and isolation wards in the hospital.
As part of the strategy of "early detection and prompt isolation" in guarding against SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), patients with pneumonia symptoms and a history of travel to Guangdong province during the 10 days before the onset of symptoms have to be isolated for observation and tested for coronavirus.
"This arrangement has put pressure on the medical wards in public hospitals. However, I understood from Dr William Ho that only 50 per cent of the isolation beds were occupied and the utilisation was uneven across the territory.
"The Hospital Authority will monitor the situation in various hospitals closely and help relieve congestion by diverting patients to other hospitals," Dr Yeoh said.
Accompanying Dr Yeoh today were the Chief Executive of Hospital Authority, Dr William Ho and Cluster Chief Executive (New Territories East), Dr Fung Hong.
Ends/Friday, January 16, 2004
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