This Department has received notification from the Mainland health authorities about a suspected SARS case in Guangzhou. The patient is a 20-year-old female worker in a restaurant in Guangzhou. She started to feel unwell on 25 December 2003 and developed fever on 26 December. She was admitted to hospital on 31 December 2003 for treatment and isolation. The case was classified as a suspected case of SARS on 7 January 2004. The patient is clinically stable and has been afebrile for seven days. Contact tracing has been carried out with 48 close contacts and 52 social contacts identified. All the contacts reportedly did not have fever.

Please be alert to new developments, maintain due vigilance in infection control measures in your health care facility and maintain good staff sickness records.

Latest press releases, advice and information for health care professionals can be found in the DH website: http://www.info.gov.hk/info/sars/e_profession.htm.

Yours faithfully,   (Dr Marina SUM)    for Director of Health