Kouichi Morita, a representative from the World Health Organization (WHO), arrived in Macao Special Administrative Region Saturday morning to make a four-day inspection on the precautionary actions the SAR has taken to prevent the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

He is the first WHO expert to visit Macao after the viral pneumonia broke out in Macao's neighboring regions. Another communicable disease control expert from WHO will pay a visit to Macao shortly.

No case of SARS infection has been found in Macao so far.

Macao, which hosts over 10 million tourists, is currently on high alert of the disease. A SARS task force headed by Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Chui Sai On has been set up to coordinate all the preventive measures against atypical pneumonia.

The task force is also responsible to make timely release of SARS infection information, while keeping a close contact with WHO, the Chinese Ministry of Health and health departments in neighboring Hong Kong and Guangdong Province. Should any atypical pneumonia case be found in Macao, the task force will take a 24-hour control immediately.

During the inspection tour, Morita will visit the isolation care units, emergency room, intensive care units in hospitals, as well as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and other medical facilities. He will meet with Macao's Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah and Chui Sai On as well as other members with the task force.

Dr. Kouichi Morita is a professor at the Department of Virology of the Institute of Tropical Medicine of Nagasaki University. He worked as the regional advisor in communicable diseases in the regional office for the Western Pacific of WHO in 1995-1998.

(Xinhua News Agency April 12, 2003)