-->300 moved to camps

Matthew Lee and Cannix Yau

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/thestandard/topstory.cfm



The government last night evacuated about 300 residents from Block E of Amoy Gardens to camps in Sai Kung and Chai Wan, where they will be quarantined for 10 days against the viral pneumonia epidemic.

The operation got under way after one more death was reported from the mysterious disease and the total number of confirmed cases jumped by 75 to 685, the second largest single-day increase since the outbreak of the disease on March 10. The number of Amoy Gardens residents with the viral disease increased by 52 to 237.

An 83-year-old man became the 16th person to die of the virus. Sixty-seven patients remained in intensive care and 84 patients have been discharged.

The operation to relocate residents quarantined in the Ngau Tau Kok estate began about 9pm with the help of dozens of armed mask-wearing police officers from the tactical unit. Members of the Civil Aid Services, wearing blue protective suits, also helped the residents board more than 20 buses that took them to the two camps - the Lady MacLehose Holiday Village in Sai Kung and the Lei Yue Mun Park and Holiday Village in Chai Wan.

In other developments:

The World Heath Organisation said the outbreaks were being contained in Vietnam, Singapore, and Canada and the disease was not expected to spread from there. But there were concerns it might have taken on a new form in Hong Kong as authorities checked whether it could have been passed on by water, sewage or ventilation systems. Singapore said airport screening had found three more cases among arriving air passengers, who had been sent to hospital.

About 12 per cent of trade events scheduled at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre over the next few weeks have been cancelled or postponed. Centre managing director Cliff Wallace said 25 events had been cancelled or postponed. The exhibition centre holds an average of 210 events a month.

The Tourism Board has temporarily cancelled most of its overseas advertisements on the assumption they will be futile. Travel industry players say they also fear the annual boost from the week-long May Day holiday on the mainland will evaporate.

Home loans broker mReferral has lowered its mortgage loan volume estimate for this year by 40 per cent because of the viral pneumonia outbreak and war in Iraq. The new estimate is HK$73 billion, down from HK$118.2 billion.






Deputy Director of Health Leung Pak-yin said the department had decided to relocate all the quarantined residents at Block E as the number of people contracting viral pneumonia in the estate continued to rise.

``They will temporarily reside [at the camps] until the end of the isolation order,'' Leung said, adding the relocation operation could empty the whole of Block E, which would allow health experts to investigate the origin of the rapid spread of the virus.

``We understand that our measure has created a certain degree of inconvenience to the isolated residents, but we hope we can find out the origin source from the building,'' he said.

Leung said the government would provide free meals, daily necessities and medical checks for all people taken to the quarantine camps.

A Leisure and Cultural Services Department spokesman said at least four leisure centres had been reserved for the government. Campers who had booked the sites are being given refunds.

The other camps are the Tso Kung Tam Outdoor Recreation Centre in Tsuen Wan and the Sai Kung Outdoor Recreation Centre.

Democrat legislator Fred Li and representatives of Amoy Gardens met Director of Health Margaret Chan yesterday morning to discuss contingency plans should the outbreak at the estate not be brought under control.

``The four camps have a capacity of 1,050, there will not be enough places if the government decides to move residents of the other blocks,'' Li said.

Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick Ho said non-governmental organisations could help provide extra quarantine areas if more people needed to be isolated.

``Hong Kong has many camp grounds,'' Ho said. ``Including those managed by organisations such as the Tung Wah Group, Po Leung Kuk or the Federation of Youth Groups, there are over 7,000 in total.''

Medical Association president and legislator Lo Wing-lok said relocating people to camps might not be the best course of action.

``Firstly, not everyone should be moved there, it must be selective,'' Lo said.

``Secondly, intensive medical and nursing support must be provided in the camps, otherwise it would be disastrous if another outbreak happened.''


2 April 2003 / 01:29 AM

<ul> ~ Mehr: Number of victims expected to grow </ul>