Press Releases
Government rebuilds public health defence system
The Government had rebuilt the public health defence system and enhanced its capacity in the past 12 months to manage disease outbreak, the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong, said today (June 23).
"We are now much more equipped to combat infectious diseases swiftly and rigorously.
"We have built new buttresses through strengthening our preparedness for a potential outbreak and maintaining close and effective surveillance for infectious diseases.
"Until now, Hong Kong has remained SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)-free because we have remarkably and in a timely manner rebuilt our public health systems of infectious disease surveillance and control," Dr Yeoh said.
Dr Yeoh was giving an opening address at the "Report on Hong Kong's Anti-SARS Measures and Inauguration Ceremony of the Scientific Advisory Structure of the Centre for Health Protection (CHP), Department of Health (DH)".
The CHP would harness and consolidate professional knowledge and expertise in combating infectious diseases, making Hong Kong better placed in tackling health threats and responding to outbreaks.
"To secure a firm footing for the CHP to work with its partners, the Director of Health has invited experts in different fields to serve on its Board of Scientific Advisers and seven Scientific Committees. This is a major step to pool knowledge, expertise and intelligence locally and internationally.
"The Board of Scientific Advisers and Scientific Committees will no doubt provide a milieu conducive to the deliberation and exchange of views on issues relating to communicable diseases of public health importance," he added.
As part of the cross-sectoral approach in preventing SARS, key government departments, agencies and academic institutions reported on their strategies and initiatives in better preparing ourselves in preventing and controlling SARS.
The Regional Adviser in Communicable Disease Surveillance and Response of WHO Western Pacific Regional Office, Dr Hitoshi Oshitani, provided a regional perspective of communicable diseases and control measures.
Commenting on Hong Kong's Anti-SARS measures, Dr Oshitani said he was impressed with the amount of work Hong Kong had done in just one year after SARS, and that he was sure Hong Kong was much better prepared for SARS and other emerging diseases at present.
He was impressed with the strong commitment that the Government had demonstrated in leading the preventive work against SARS; the high level of co-ordination among different departments and sectors, as was evident in the actions reported today; and community involvement in implementing the measures.
Speaking after the report session, Dr Oshitani also praised Hong Kong for having done an excellent job during SARS outbreak last year.
"It is easy to criticise any actions retrospectively. Hong Kong did quite a good job in implementing all necessary measures during the outbreak," he said.
"Even though we were in a situation where we did not know anything about the disease or what caused the infection, Hong Kong did an excellent job during the epidemic.
"Our director congratulated Dr Yeoh and his colleagues for the excellent job that they have done during and after the outbreak," he said.
Also attending today's event were the Permanent Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Mrs Carrie Yau; Director of Health Dr Lam Ping-yan, Controller of CHP Dr Leung Pak-yin, Chairman of Hospital Authority Dr Leong Che-hung, Chief Executive of Hospital Authority Dr William Ho, as well as scores of senior Government officials and researchers from University of Hong Kong and Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Ends/Wednesday, June 23, 2004
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