Hong Kong Hospital Authority is considering the possibilities of building several independent infectious disease centers in some major hospitals.
Wen Wei Po reported Sunday that the planned first infectious disease center in Princess Margaret Hospital would be a 14-storey building with 100 independent wards.
The paper cited Yeoh Eng-kiong, secretary for health, welfare and food, as saying on Friday that the government is considering building two or three infectious disease centers to deal with any possible outbreak of infectious disease in the future.
Yeoh said the final decision would be made within three months.
Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa visited Princess Margaret Hospital on Saturday to see whether the hospital can have another building to treat patients with epidemic diseases.
He said Hong Kong would prepare itself better in case severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) comes to hit Hong Kong again this winter or next spring.
(Xinhua News Agency June 16, 2003)
