************************************************************
Following is the transcript of remarks (English portion) by the Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, at a meet-the-media session after visiting the Infectious Disease Centre of the Princess Margaret Hospital this afternoon (April 30):
Chief Executive: The WHO (World Health Organisation) has raised the alert level to Phase Five. That means a pandemic is imminent. The Hong Kong Government is on high alert. We are ready to escalate our response level to the highest level of "Emergency", any time necessary. Over the past few days, we have instituted a number of response measures. We are making preparations for the emergency measures that may be required, when the situation in Hong Kong becomes more critical.
I have just visited the Infectious Disease Centre of the Princess Margaret Hospital to learn about the readiness of our healthcare system for the pandemic. Although the latest development is worrying, we can take comfort in the fact that Hong Kong is well equipped with top-class medical facilities in a fight against the human swine flu. The infection control and isolation facilities I have just inspected are second to none in the world, and we have similar facilities in other hospitals in Hong Kong.
Hardware aside, we take pride in our team of highly professional healthcare workers. They served Hong Kong with great dedication and professionalism in the SARS outbreak in 2003. Now they are more experienced and better prepared to fight the new battle. I am sure all of us will stand by them as they take on this important, and high risk, task.
As the virus continues to spread across the globe, we stand ready for the arrival of the first confirmed case of infection any time. We must strive for the best, and prepare for the worst.
In the days ahead, the Government will remain on high alert, and so must every member of the public. In our fight against the virus, each and every one of us has a vital role to play in paying extra attention to personal and public hygiene.
Reporter: To what extent do you think the swine pandemic will affect Hong Kong?
Chief Executive: We are well prepared. When it arrives we will tackle it head-on. The important thing is this: we are well equipped and after the SARS epidemic six years ago, our staff are well-trained. Take the Hospital Authority for example. They have numerous exercises, more than 40 I understand over this period, and they have trained more than 56,000 staff over this period. We are well-prepared in terms of hardware, in terms of software, in terms of training, in terms professionalism and morale.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Thursday, April 30, 2009
Issued at HKT 16:49
NNNN
Windows Media format
Real Media format