The allegation that the Government had attempted to halt an investigation or had covered up the possibility that rats might have been a factor in the transmission of SARS is totally groundless, Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong says.

In response to media enquiries, Dr Yeoh said actual events show the opposite of the accusation is true.

"Public health was always my first priority in all my considerations and decisions made during the SARS outbreak," Dr Yeoh stressed.

The Health, Welfare & Food Bureau said the following facts show there was no basis for any of the allegations:

* At an April 5 meeting, Dr Yeoh instructed an expert from the Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department to carry out autopsies on rats trapped in Amoy Gardens immediately. The preliminary results produced the same day indicated no changes indicative of a severe respiratory virus infection in the rats.

* At the meeting, Dr Yeoh instructed that investigations on rats should be intensified with additional tests to be carried out on more rat specimens. The reports of these additional tests also did not show evidence of SARS coronavirus infection in the rats.

* A total of 62 samples - including throat swabs, droppings, urine and serum - were tested. Of these, six samples from droppings and two samples from throat swabs were positive. However, all the serum samples were negative, indicating that the rodents were not infected.

* The Government made public on April 17, 2003, the findings on the Amoy Gardens outbreak investigation, including the fact that the virus had been found in rodents. The report also states that as the rodents showed no signs of infection, the findings only point to environmental contamination and that pests were likely to be no more than mechanical carriers for the virus in the Amoy Gardens outbreak.