SARS carrier itinerary released

The Department of Health yesterday announced details of the travel arrangements of a Hong Kong resident with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) as he traveled to Taiwan last month and spread the disease to his relatives here.

DOH Deputy Director Lee Lung-teng (李龍騰) said yesterday the traveler had come to Taiwan on March 26 via Cathay Pacific Airways flight CX460, took Tzichiang express train (自強號) number 1021 at 1:05pm from Taipei to Taichung on March 27, and boarded a Cathay Pacific Airways flight CX511 back to Hong Kong on March 28.

Lee urged all the passengers aboard either of the two flights or the train to be wary of possible SARS infection.

Lee said the man concerned was from the Amoy Garden complex (淘大花園), one of the most severely SARS-hit areas in Hong Kong, and had spread the disease to his 56-year-old brother living in Taichung.

It was unknown whether or not this man was from Block E of the Amoy Garden complex which has had the highest number of SARS-infected patients. The Hong Kong health authority has ordered all the residents of Block E to go in quarantine inside their apartments until midnight April 9 to contain the spread of the disease.

Lee said the Taichung native had been treated in hospital, and his wife and daughter have also been in quarantine.

He noted the passengers on the CX460 flight on March 26 were unlikely to have caught the disease, if they showed no symptoms as yet since the 10 day incubation period was now passed.

As for the passengers on board the train, and the CX511 flight, Lee urged them watch out for SARS-related symptoms.

However, as well as the two flights and the train there were also taxis, Taichung city buses and airport shuttle buses that the man had used in Taiwan which were untraceable.

"It's hard to trace down all the possible cars or buses he took, so we want citizens who might have similar symptoms to pay special attention," Lee said.

Lee told a new conference that there are 120 reported SARS cases, including 19 probable cases, 18 suspected cases, 40 cases pending identification and 43 cases which have been ruled out as SARS.

A total of 43 patients among the 120 reported cases have met the World Health Organization's criteria of release from hospitals and were discharged, among them were five probable cases and nine suspected cases, Lee went on.

Local health authorities thus far have imposed a 10-day home confinement on 1,081 people who have come into close contact with SARS patients and were believed to be predisposed to the disease.

Also yesterday, the health authorities lifted the confinement of 411 people since their chances of developing the disease was remote

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