Press Releases
Response level for MERS raised to "Serious" (with photo)
The Government today (June 8) decided to raise the response level for Middle
East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) from "Alert" to "Serious" after assessing
the latest development of MERS and the risk faced by Hong Kong.
The Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, this afternoon convened a
steering committee meeting under the mechanism of the Preparedness Plan for
MERS to discuss with various relevant bureaux and departments the latest
situation of the disease and corresponding prevention and control measures
to safeguard public health.
Dr Ko said, "We are very concerned about the MERS outbreaks in Korea and
other Middle East countries, in particular Korea which has close economic
and tourism links with Hong Kong. We appreciate that Hong Kong people are
particularly worried about the current situation in Korea.
"Confirmed MERS cases have recently been continuously found in Korea. The
total number of such cases kept on increasing over the past few days, while
the number of third tier transmission cases is now higher than the second
tier transmission cases. Besides, we noted a recent media report in which a
confirmed case was found in Busan. This shows that the risk of a community
outbreak in Korea has considerably increased.
"The contacts between Hong Kong and Korea are frequent. The air traffic
between the two places is busy, with a number of flights arriving Hong Kong
from Korea every day and many Hong Kong people visiting Korea. We consider
that a more prudent approach should be adopted to safeguard the safety of
Hong Kong people. We have therefore decided to raise the response level for
MERS from 'Alert' to 'Serious'".
On the travel health advice, Dr Ko urged the public, particularly patients
with chronic illnesses, to avoid unnecessary visits to Korea. If it is
necessary to go to Korea, they should adopt appropriate precautionary
measures, including wearing masks in health-care facilities (HCFs) or
crowded places and enhancing the awareness of hand hygiene.
"The travel health advice issued by the Department of Health on Korea serves
as a reminder with content similar to the red Outbound Travel Alert," he
said.
Travellers to the Middle East should avoid going to farms, barns or markets
with camels, and avoid contact with sick persons and animals, especially
camels, birds or poultry. They should also avoid unnecessary visits to HCFs.
"The Centre for Health Protection will continue to maintain liaison with and
obtain the latest information from the World Health Organization (WHO) and
health authorities from the Mainland and Korea. We will continue to closely
monitor the latest developments overseas and communicate with the WHO, the
Mainland and neighbouring health authorities. The local response and health
surveillance will also be adjusted if necessary," Dr Ko said.
Ends/Monday, June 8, 2015
Issued at HKT 19:58
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