Environmental hygiene experts from the World Health Organisation will arrive in Hong Kong tomorrow, at the Government's invitation, the Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food said at the daily press briefing on atypical pneumonia.

Temperature checks for all passengers at all arrival and departure points will begin this week, he added.

As at 1pm today, 24 new patients in public hospitals were confirmed to have the disease. A total of 522 patients - more than 36% of all confirmed cases - have recovered and been discharged from public hospitals. Of them, 61 were sent home today.

The new confirmed cases include four healthcare workers (one from Prince of Wales Hospital, two from Princess Margaret Hospital, and one from Caritas Medical Centre).  

The remaining 20 are other patients and contacts of patients with atypical pneumonia.

Most of the 831 patients currently in hospital are responding positively to the new treatment protocol. Of them, 110,  about 13%, are receiving treatment in intensive-care units.

Another 133 patients are recovering in convalescence, in preparation for discharge.

Six patients died in the last day.

They included three chronically ill patients: a woman, aged 81, at Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital; a 61-year-old man at the Prince of Wales Hospital; and a man, 73, at Priness Margaret Hospital.

Another man, 77, also died at Prince of Wales Hospital. A man, aged 39, and a woman, aged 34, both passed away at Princess Margaret Hospital.

This brought to 105 the total number of deaths relating to atypical pneumonia.

WHO hygiene experts to arrive tomorrow

The World Health Organisation team will work with the Department of Health, Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong said.

"When we were investigating outbreaks in Hong Kong, I was of the view that we had a lack of expertise in environmental hygiene experts. [Secretary for the Environment, Transport & Works] Dr Sarah Liao's team is quite limited."

This team is not coming in response to the report on Amoy Gardens, he stressed. "We are still waiting for formal responses from the WHO on our report. Our understanding from them is that the causes we have given them are plausible."

The Government's findings on the outbreak at the housing estate are comprehensive, Dr Yeoh said. "We identified all possible causes, in Amoy Gardens and in Lower Ngau Tau Kok Estate, and have not seen any new cases arising.

"The WHO experts might hold different opinions. If there are areas that should be further investigated, we are delighted to do so. They may have some expertise we don't have."

Stepped up temperature-taking measures

Within this week, infrared temperature screening will begin for all passengers at all arrival and departure points.

Beginning at midnight tonight, health officials will start taking the temperature of all passengers at Hong Kong International Airport, whether they are departing, arriving or in transit, Dr Yeoh said.

The Deputy Director of Health has visited Shenzhen to look at thermal-imaging devices developed at a Shenzhen university. "We have placed an order for 50 of these machines and will test and install them at Lo Wu," Dr Yeoh said.

These ceiling mounted units cost $10,000 each. The Government has also purchased 20 handheld infrared scanning devices at a cost of $1,200 each.

Passengers arriving from the Mainland at Hung Hom will also be subject to temperature checks. Initially, they will use the same in-ear devices that are now used at the airport.

"We need time to calibrate the scanners," Dr Yeoh said. "We can't rely on them for an absolute reading - it's for a first-line reading."

If the scanners indicate someone has a fever, they will be given a second check using a manual device.

Nethersole Hospital to suspend A&E services

Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital will suspend its accident and emergency services beginning at midnight tonight. Patients will be redirected to the Prince of Wales Hospital, North District Hospital or another hospital in the New Territories East Cluster. For queries, call 2689 2000.

All obstetrics and gynaecological inpatient services will be transferred to the Prince of Wales Hospital, also. Nethersole Hospital's obstetrics and gynaecology outpatient clinics will be suspended beginning April 28, at which time the Prince of Wales' clinics will reopen. For enquiries, call 2632 2905.

"We hope that that will ease the burden on the hospital, through a redeployment of our resources," Dr Yeoh said. "We emphasise that healthcare workers should stay on high alert and treat all patients as though they could be atypical pneumonia patients."

The protective gear supply remains normal, he said.

Summer's onset could offer glimmer of hope

In reply to a reporter's query as to whether the start of the hot summer weather could kill the virus, Dr Yeoh said: "We will control all the things we can control; I'm making no assumptions."

Viruses often exhibit seasonal variations, he said. "That would give us breathing space - but we can't assume that will happen. We don't know how coronavirus will behave. We are making sure that we continue to keep our fight up, that we do everythng humanly possible to fight this."