The Secretary for Social Affairs, Chui Sai On stressed that no atypical pneumonia had been found in the SAR up to this point, yet the health authority had released relevant guideline and would continue to alert the public to take prevention.

Chui Sai On said that the SAR health authority had carefully followed the instruction of the World Health Organization (WHO) and had advised the local hospitals to aware of the situation and to follow the preventive procedures.

He stressed that health providers and their employees should take all the preventions, adding that the health authority would keep the public informed of the latest situation.

On another occasion, the Director of the Health Bureau, Koi Kuoc Ieng also stressed that no atypical pneumonia case had been found so far in the SAR.

He confirmed that a nurse suffering from symptoms of respiratory track infection was later found not to have contracted atypical pneumonia.

The nurse had been put under observation in an isolation care unit in the government hospital, she had started to have fever and cough after returning from Hong Kong where she had contacted other medical personnel during a training course, said Mr. Koi.

A doctor suffer from symptoms of respiratory track infection had been put under observation in an isolation care unit earlier, he also was found not to have contracted atypical pneumonia.