WHO lays down conditions for lifting SARS alert
Hong Kong: Travellers may still have to wait several weeks to visit
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has laid down its conditions for lifting its travel alert for Hong Kong, following the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
While the organisation has not laid down exact guidelines, the WHO has told the Hong Kong government that it will consider the disease under control in the former UK colony if there are fewer than five new cases a day based on a three-day average, and less than 60 people hospitalised by the disease. I
t has not been confirmed how long such a trend would need to continue before the alert is lifted, but the Financial Times quotes a government spokesperson who indicated that a downward trend of 20 or 30 days would probably be required. The other condition would be that there should be no confirmed cases of SARS being exported from Hong Kong to other countries.
The FT speculates that in effect, it could still be several weeks at least before the alert is lifted. At present, the newspaper states, there are still more than 400 active cases of the disease, that is, where the patient is hospitalised.
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