Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa said on Monday the
government will discuss with the World Health Organization (WHO)
and ask it to lift its travel advisory against Hong Kong as soon as
possible.
SARS situations in Hong Kong have shown signs of stabilizing these
days and the number of contracted patients fell down to the single
digital over the past two days. Eight new cases was reported
Monday, quite a big drop compared two weeks ago.
The WHO gave the travel advisory against Hong Kong on April 2 due
to the serious SARS conditions. The warning has devastated Hong
Kong's travel and tourism industry with around 40 percent of
flights at the Hong Kong International Airport canceled in April
while passenger numbers plummeted 60 percent.
Tung said at a news briefing that the WHO has its criteria and
whether Hong Kong can persuade the organization to lift the travel
ban "depend on whether we can continue to get the confirmed SARS
cases further down."
Tung said anyone cannot treat the situation lightly and it is now
crucial for the Hong Kong people to stick to their efforts to
contain the disease.
Announcing the government's consideration to revive the economy and
the social vibrancy, Tund said the government will, when the travel
advisory is withdrawn, allocate a large sum of money to promote
Hong Kong and make great efforts to restore the confidence and
prosperity in Hong Kong.
(Xinhua News Agency May 5, 2003)