Hong Kong Commissioner to the United States Jacqueline Willis has briefed US health officials on new precautionary measures taken by the Government to prevent the spread of atypical pneumonia.

Meeting with Dr Jerome Hauer, Acting Assistant Secretary for Public Health Emergency Preparedness of the US Department of Health & Human Services, Ms Willis said the measures include introducing home confinement for those who have household contacts with infected patients, barring infected travellers from leaving during confinement periods and introducing body temperature checks for departing passengers at the airport.

Ms Willis presented a copy of the report on the atypical pneumonia outbreak at Amoy Gardens, and told Dr Hauer of the factors identified in the report which could have accounted for the outbreak that infected 321 residents of the housing estate since the end of March.

She said investigations have found no evidence of transmission of the virus by air and water.

She also briefed him on the Government's efforts to combat the disease and underlined our close co-operation with other health authorities in sharing information and findings.

Ms Willis assured that Hong Kong will continue to work closely with the World Health Organisation, the Centers for Disease Control, health authorities in Beijing and Guangdong and other international bodies to prevent the spread of the disease. Hong Kong will also continue to share its experiences with the rest of the world.

The three Hong Kong Economic & Trade Offices in the US have been providing timely information on the disease and the Government's efforts to contain and combat it.

The designated web site created specially on this subject (http://www.info.gov.hk/dh/ap/htm) has been heavily promoted.