Edmund Ho Hau Wah, chief executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), Sunday called on senior health workers to fight against viral pneumonia after the first case of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was confirmed Saturday night.
At the meeting with senior medical staff from two hospitals directly affiliated to the Health Service under the Macao SAR government, Ho emphasized that the coming two weeks will be a crucial period for Macao's effort to contain SARS and prevent transmission of the disease to communities.
Ho reminded medical staff to protect themselves in work, adding that the Government Hospital and the Kiang Wu Hospital are the primary bulwark for Macao to contain the disease.
The first SARS patient, a 29-year-old air-conditioner maintenance worker, was admitted into an isolation ward in the Government Hospital, where all ward visits are banned to reduce chances of SARS infection Sunday.
The chief executive said that although Macao had remained a "safety island" after the disease broke out in the surrounding regions of Guangdong province and Hong Kong, people there have been fully aware that there are many possibilities of SARS infection, and have made sufficient preparation in disease prevention and treatment.
He said the epidemic would eventually be curbed with the great effort of health workers.
(Xinhua News Agency May 12, 2003)
