Sunday Communications Ltd, which is trying to make its first profit this year, is offering an new service allowing Hong Kong customers to use their mobile phones to track buildings with reported cases of the lethal pneumonia virus sweeping the city.
Sunday, the smallest of the city's six cellular carriers, said subscribers may download text messages listing buildings that have at least one case of severe acute respiratory syndrome within 1km radius from the caller. The service will use a global positioning system to match a caller's location with the list of buildings issued by health authorities.
Many Hong Kong citizens are wearing face masks on the streets and carrying alcohol hand-wipes as precautions against the flu-like disease that's infected a reported 1,190 people in the city and killed 47.
The government started to release the names of buildings with reported infections after public clamor for more disclosure.
"We want to give our subscribers the peace of mind when they move about the city," Sunday spokeswoman Stella Wong said.
"We charge only for the call time when users request the service, but not for the messages."
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