Government departments and agencies tested their preparedness today in a drill involving a fictitious case of SARS in an elderly home.

The exercise was organised by the Health, Welfare & Food Bureau in collaboration with the Department of Health and the Hospital Authority. Joining in were a home for the elderly and the Social Welfare, Food & Environmental Hygiene, Buildings, Home Affairs, and Information Services Departments and the Education & Manpower Bureau.

Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong said drills are an important element of the Government's multi-faceted strategy to deal with a possible SARS resurgence.

"Today's exercise was designed to let the departments and agencies involved put the SARS contingency measures into practice and have them evaluated," he said.

"The adequacy of contingency operational protocols formulated by relevant departments and agencies to combat SARS will be assessed after the exercise."

Dr Yeoh said the drills will strengthen inter-agency communication and the ability and confidence to cope with SARS emergencies.

The exercise scenario involved a resident of a residential care home for the elderly who came down with a respiratory tract infection after returning to Hong Kong from overseas. The resident was subsequently found to be a laboratory-confirmed SARS case, triggering a Level One Response under the government's overall emergency mechanism on SARS.

According to the emergency mechanism, the Home Affairs, Health and Social Welfare Departments react swiftly to enhance surveillance, carry out contact tracing and epidemiological investigations, and enhance their capacity to cope with a potential outbreak.

In today's drill, the regional office of the Department of Health, upon receiving hospital notification of the fictitious SARS case, started epidemiological investigations and contact tracing. It visited the home to investigate and make sure the necessary precautionary measures were in place.

It arranged for close contacts of the patient to be quarantined to contain the spread of the disease. It also assessed the home's infection-control measures.

A Multi-Disciplinary Response Team was activated and sent to the scene. Food & Environmental Hygiene officers were assigned to disinfect and clean the dormitory and communal facilities of the home and to conduct pest control, while Buildings Department staff inspected the home's drainage system and sewers to rectify any irregularities.

A Level One Steering Committee under the chairmanship of Dr Yeoh was activated to review the adequacy of control measures and the response mechanism and to decide on what additional control and support measures were needed.