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HK expects 3 000 Sars cases
09/04/2003 18:31 - (SA)
Hong Kong - The number of people here with severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) could reach 3 000 by the end of this month, health officials predicted on Wednesday.
Health authority chair Leong Che-hung said that, in a worst-case scenario, there could be between 1 800 and 3 000 cases of the virus which has killed 27 people in the territory so far.
However, he emphasised that Hong Kong's hospitals would be able to cope with such numbers and further steps were being taken to protect health-care workers treating those infected.
By Wednesday, Hong Kong had recorded 42 new cases of Sars, bringing the total to 97.
These included 15 health-care workers and five residents of an infected high-rise apartment block called Amoy Gardens.
There were also two more deaths - a 78-year-old woman and 35-year-old man, both with other chronic health conditions.
"I have projected that, by the end of this month, our worst case scenario should be about 1 800 to 3 000 cases," said Leong.
"But the hospital authority is still capable of dealing with these numbers."
In quarantine camps
Leong said they had ordered a special consignment of protective suits for use by health-care staff looking after infected patients.
Hong Kong has the highest Sars infection rate out of China. More than 300 of the 970 cases are residents of the Amoy Gardens apartment block where residents have been evacuated and placed under quarantine in government-run holiday camps.
Earlier on Wednesday, the department of health called on passengers who had travelled from Hong Kong to Taipei on Cathay Pacific flight CX 402 on March 30 to contact its hotline after a passenger was confirmed to be suffering from Sars. - Sapa-DPA
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