Hong Kong braces as global toll mounts

Hong Kong hospitals are bracing for a worst case-scenario of up to 3,000 cases of the SARS virus by the end of April, as one more person succumbed to the illness in Canada.

Hong Kong hospitals are bracing for a worst case-scenario of up to 3,000 cases of the SARS virus by the end of April, as one more person succumbed to the illness in Canada. Hong Kong recorded two new deaths on Sunday, bringing to 22 the number of people who have fallen victim to the mysterious SARS syndrome in the territory. Authorities also said they had 42 new SARS cases, with 842 people so far infected in this former British colony of 6.9 million people. Over a hundred have recovered so far. In Singapore, where infection numbers are the fourth highest in the world, its Prime Minister warned growth targets for the year would have to be revised downward because of the outbreak. So far, SARS has killed 95 people around the globe. The latest victim was from Canada, bringing to nine the death toll in the country. Infections have risen to 179 in the province of Ontario, which has the bulk of cases. Canada has the world’s third highest infection total. Globally, cases exceed 2,600. Enormous strainIn Hong Kong, Hospital Authority chairman Leong Che-hung told a local television station there would be sufficient manpower and facilities to deal with up to 3,000 patients, although intensive care units would be under pressure. A rising number of infections has placed enormous strain on hospitals, especially since most of those infected have been health workers. “We hope that we can contain the disease so that we don’t have to go to the worst-case scenario,” Leong said during an interview with ATV. The government is now trying to hire doctors and nurses from the private sector. Dr. Lo Wing-lok, an infectious disease expert in Hong Kong, told The Associated Press he thought the illness could be contained in two to three weeks by more quarantines and mandatory checkups, but also issued a warning. “If there’s no change in the distribution of resources and no contingency plans, most of the regional hospitals would not be able to provide normal services to patients,” Dr Lo Wing-Lok said. Hong Kong is the second worst-hit area after southern China’s Guangdong province, where the disease originated. China has been slammed for being too slow to acknowledge the disease and warn its neighbors. It said on Monday its death toll had climbed to 53 with 1,268 infections as of April 6. A Finnish man died in Beijing from the virus on Sunday, taking the number of deaths in China’s capital to four, a health official said. As the death toll mounts, the World Health Organization (WHO) says the key to controlling the disease could lie in identifying highly infectious people, known as “super spreaders.” A WHO team is visiting hospitals and talking with experts in Guangdong, where the epidemic is thought to have originated, to hunt for clues. Chinese health officials say the disease has been brought under “effective control.” Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, whose administration is grappling with its first big crisis since taking office in March, said China was “safe to visit” and the country could curb the spread of the disease.Experts have linked SARS to a new form of coronavirus, other types of which usually are found in animals. (Source: CNN; Monday, April 7, 2003; Posted: 2:55 AM EDT (0655 GMT))