A video conference with the World Health Organisation will be held next week by the Government to discuss the criteria for lifting the travel ban on Hong Kong.

Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong said that during his discussion with WHO's Executive Director Dr David Heyman in Bangkok, they touched on several principles on this issue.

They were:

* Hong Kong's current situation, including the number of new cases and control measures;

* the mode of transmission, in particular for the Amoy Gardens outbreak; and,

* any exportation of SARS cases to other places.

He also revealed that the Government will review the existing mechanism for helping people in need and consider establishing a fund for those affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome.

Speaking on a radio programme this morning, he said the Government has plans to set up funds for healthcare workers and SARS-related research.

He also expressed deep regret for those affected by SARS and its victims.

On measures to tackle SARS, Dr Yeoh admitted that the Government did not know much about the virus at the beginning of the outbreak.

The Government has been studying cases to find out more about the virus and a number of measures have been put in place in the past few weeks to expedite investigations, he said.

These include:

* setting up a multi-disciplinary response team to look into the probable causes as and when a cluster or clusters of SARS cases appear to be under formation;

* making use of the Police computer system to trace infected patients and their close contacts; and,

* establish an information system in the Hospital Authority to feed first-hand information on suspected cases to the Department of Health for immediate follow-up action.

He said the measures have allowed the Government to deal with cases promptly to curb the spread of the virus and to safeguard public health. The closer ties between the Government and the Hospital Authority have also helped improve anti-SARS work.

Although the number of confirmed cases has declined, he called on the public to take the necessary precaution measures.

Turning to patients who contracted SARS again during convalescence, Dr Yeoh said the amount of steroid taken, the invasion of patients' immunity system by other viruses, and even SARS-coronavirus may be the possible causes.

The Hospital Authority is looking into the matter and see if there are other reasons for this.