Guangdong Province Refused to Share SARS Information, Post Says

Hong Kong had “extreme difficulties” in collecting information about the outbreak of SARS from Guangdong officials in February last year, the Sunday Morning Post said citing the city’s senior health official.

Hong Kong had “extreme difficulties” in collecting information about the outbreak of SARS from Guangdong officials in February last year, the Sunday Morning Post said citing the city’s senior health official. Guangdong authorities refused to provide information before the virus crossed the boarder, leading to more people in Hong Kong catching Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food Yeoh Eng-kiong told an inquiry by the Legislative Council into SARS yesterday, the paper said. Health officials of the city had to rely on established channels of communication and get information from the Ministry of Health in Beijing, it said. The ministry told Hong Kong officials there were 300 people infected with the virus and five deaths in Guangdong. “We had difficulties with Guangdong because there was no response,” Yeoh was quoted by the paper as saying. In Hong Kong, the virus killed 299 people and infected 1,755, the paper said. paper’s Web site.) (Source: Bloomberg Health News, March 2004)