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(11/04/03) |
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1,000 stay home
They have been in close contact with recent confirmed Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) cases, sources claim. The government said yesterday home detention(滯留) orders would be served(適用;有用) on only 150 people who were close family members of patients infected with viral pneumonia. But Director of Health Margaret Chan admitted that those who had already been told to report for medical checks for 10 consecutive days would also be included under the order. She said those who still had four or more days left on the order would now have to stay at home until the full term had been served. Those with fewer than four days should continue reporting to their designated medical centres. The home detention orders were announced as the number of people infected with viral pneumonia rose to 998 with the addition of 28 new cases yesterday. The death toll climbed by three to 30. This did not include American teacher James Salisbury who died shortly after crossing the border from Shenzhen. Those served with detention orders could choose to remain at home or opt(選擇) to stay at either the Lady MacLehose Holiday Village in Sai Kung or the Lei Yue Mun Park and Holiday Village in Chai Wan. They will be supplied with meals and constantly monitored by Department of Health staff. Police will also ensure their compliance(承諾). The decision comes 17 days after Singapore enacted(制定) similar home quarantine(隔離期) measures on 800 households on March 26. "As and when the situation demands, we need to implement new measures,'' Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food Yeoh Eng-kiong said yesterday. ``There has never been a need in the past for us to confine people to their homes. As such, we must exercise this power carefully, sensibly and responsibly." Yeoh said he expected people in Hong Kong to find it harder to adapt to such tough measures compared with Singaporeans. ``It's a first time for Hong Kong,'' he said. ``In fact, not many countries in the world have implemented such an order.'' Chan said first offenders who broke their quarantine orders would be sent warning letters. Police would arrest repeat offenders and take them to an undisclosed detention camp. ``In special circumstances we may need to extend the detention period,'' Chan said. Medical Association president and legislator Lo Wing-lok supported the home isolation orders, but said enough manpower should be deployed to make sure people obeyed. In a related development, the government said yesterday it would name the buildings in which=(where) infected patients lived. These would be disclosed(透露) on the government Internet website to "avoid speculation(思索;沈思;推測)". A department spokeswoman said yesterday the webpage was under construction and she could not confirm when the information would be available. The spokeswoman also confirmed that Deputy Director of Health Leung Pak-yin had a ``minor illness'' and was staying at home. She did not say from what he was suffering. Leung was to lead a team of officials to Guangzhou today to share information on the disease. Equal Opportunities Commission chairwoman Anna Wu supported the decision to disclose certain information while urging the community to protect and respect the privacy of individuals affected. Among the latest SARS fatalities(死亡;死者;死亡事故;災禍[C]) were a 63-year-old man with a history of chronic disease and a 46-year-old woman who died on Wednesday. A 73-year-old woman with a history of chronic disease died yesterday morning. Yeoh said Salisbury, the teacher, was dead on arrival at the North District Hospital and would not be included in Hong Kong's death toll. One of Salisbury's friends, David Westbrook, claimed Shenzhen officials had moved him to Hong Kong to avoid the death of a foreigner on the mainland. A Shenzhen official denied the allegation(申述;辯解;主張), saying the teacher was sent to Hong Kong at the request of the American Consulate.
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