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The Government's contingency plan on avian flu was put to test today (September 21) during a full-scale exercise held to try out response capabilities of the parties concerned in the event of an outbreak of avian flu involving human cases.
Code-named Chestnut, the one-day exercise, was designed to provide an opportunity for the Government and other stakeholders to review and improve their established plans and procedures during a crisis with a view to further enhance preparedness and co-ordination.
About 250 participants from 12 government bureaus, departments and organisations and a non-government organisations took part in the exercise, and six experts from the Mainland and Macau attended as observers.
The exercise scenario unfolded when a female staff member of a children's home in Fanling developed symptoms suggestive of avian flu after visiting a country where cases of avian flu were reported.
The woman was taken to Princess Margaret Hospital where she was isolated for treatment. She was later confirmed to have been infected with avian flu.
A Serious Response Level Steering Committee meeting was held and it was decided that the children's home would be isolated and disinfected.
Residents with symptoms were taken to the Hospital Authority Infectious Diseases Centre at Princess Margaret Hospital for isolation and treatment while those with no symptoms were transferred to Lady Maclehose Holiday Village for quarantine and medical surveillance.
Ground movements in this exercise, which included the transfer of patients and symptomatic residents to hospital, evacuation of residents of the child home to an isolation camp and disinfection of infected areas, were carried out by frontline staff wearing personal protective equipment.
The Director of Health, Dr PY Lam visited the children's home to observe frontline operations. He also exchanged views with the observers on the exercise.
Dr Lam said the exercise provided an opportunity for the Government and relevant parties to test interdepartmental preparedness, co-ordination and co-operation on outbreak of avian influenza, in particular on the isolation of residential premises and the opening of a quarantine centre.
He said the exercise would strengthen inter-agency communication, escalate ability and boost confidence of frontline staff in the fight against avian flu.
"The efficiency of contingency operational protocols formulated by the departments and agencies concerned would be assessed after the exercise.
"To meet the challenges from avian flu is a formidable task and we need to adopt an effective and multi-agency response to the disease," Dr Lam said.
Government departments and non-government organisations that took part in the exercise were the Food and Health Bureau, the Department of Health, the Hospital Authority, the Auxiliary Medical Service, the Civil Aid Service, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, the Fire Services Department, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, the Government Logistics Department, the Hong Kong Police Force, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the Social Welfare Department and the Precious Blood Children's Village.
Ends/Friday, September 21, 2007
Issued at HKT 18:24
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