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Following is a transcript of the remarks made by the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong, at a media session after inspecting the health control measures at the immigration control point at Lo Wu this afternoon (January 20):
Dr Yeoh: We have received the notification from the Ministry of Health that they have designated 72 hospitals in the major cities and provinces which have been designated to treat patients from Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and also overseas visitors who come down with atypical pneumonia. So these are individuals who have the misfortune of coming down with pneumonia and suspected of SARS. So these are 72 designated hospitals. We have already uploaded the names of these hospitals on the Department of Health's webpage. So if anyone in Hong Kong goes back to China and unfortunately has felt unwell and suspects that he or she has pneumonia and wishes to seek medical consultations, they can go to these 72 designated hospitals. So this is just for the convenience of the citizens and residents of HK in case if you are unwell and wish to see a doctor. These are designated hospitals so they are specialist hospitals that can treat SARS. Obviously the most important thing is, during this period quite a large number of people are travelling to the Mainland and coming to Hong Kong ... for you to have a healthy and happy holiday. It's important to look after your own health, to take care of good food hygiene and good environmental hygiene. So good personal hygiene, good food hygiene and good environmental hygiene will be the key to a very happy and a healthy holiday.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion)
Ends/Tuesday, January 20, 2004
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