A Ho Man Tin Secondary School will suspend classes until May 8th, after a 13-year-old Form 2 student was admitted as a 'probable' SARS case, the Director of Health reported at a daily press briefing.

11 new cases, 43 more sent home

As at 1pm today, 11 new patients in public hospitals were confirmed to have atypical pneumonia. A total of 834 patients - more than 52% of all confirmed cases - have recovered and been discharged from public hospitals. Of them, 43 were sent home today.

The new confirmed cases include two healthcare workers from Prince of Wales Hospital. The other nine are other patients and contacts of patients with atypical pneumonia.

Most of the 604 patients currently in hospital are responding positively to the new treatment protocol. Of them, 88, about 14%, are receiving treatment in intensive-care units.

Another 102 patients are recovering in convalescence, in preparation for discharge.

Five men - four of whom had a history of chronic disease - died in the last day.

One was a 65-year-old at Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital; another, aged 34, died at Kwong Wah Hospital; and a 76-year-old died at Wong Tai Sin Hospital. Two men, aged 83 and 51, died at Princess Margaret Hospital.

The 51-year-old, an Amoy Gardens resident, did not have underlying illnesses.

This brought to 162  the total number of deaths relating to atypical pneumonia.

St Theresa Secondary School to close until May 8

The latest probable case, a St Theresa Secondary School student, left school around 1pm on April 28 when she started to feel unwell. She developed a fever and saw a doctor who admitted her to Queen Elizabeth Hospital. There, a chest X-ray showed an anomaly, and she was classified as a 'probable' case.

The Education & Manpower Bureau has approached students' parents and school management. Classes will be resumed on May 8. There are 1,293 students and 63 teaching staff members. Students in the girl's class have been contacted, and one has reported any discomfort or taken any sick leave, Dr Chan said.

The school will be disinfected and all students and teachers are subject to health monitoring until May 8.

Early patient discovered to have had SARS

Another secondary school student, a 15-year-old girl, had been admitted to hospital in mid-March. Her symptoms: fever, dizziness and chills. The doctor treated her as a pneumonia patient and put her on antibiotics, Dr Chan said. She recovered and was discharged from hospital.

Later, doctors ran viral tests on blood samples taken while she was in hospital. They showed antibodies for coronavirus.

"Her family members have not developed any symptoms and the student is now in good physical condition, so the school need not be suspended," Dr Chan said.

Girl back from Taiwan shows no SARS signs

The 6-year-old girl who returned with her tour group from Taiwan yesterday is ready to be discharged from hospital.

She had developed a fever while on the tour, prompting Taiwanese officials to confine the 33-member group to their hotel rooms for 10 days. The Hong Kong Government intervened, sending a Dragonair plane with medical staff to pick them up and escort them back.

Her fever has disappeared and blood and X-ray tests were normal before she even boarded the plane. Upon her return to Hong Kong, she was sent to Yan Chai Hospital. The doctor in charge of the accident and emergency ward and a paediatric doctor-in-chief did further X-rays and ran blood samples. "They felt that the girl had no sign of SARS," Dr Chan said.

"Because of the clinicians' diagnosis, we have notified the rest of the team that they are no longer subject to home confinement," she said. She added, though, that the more they observe personal and environmental hygiene, the better.

6-year-old's death certificate queried

Hospital Authority Senior Executive Manager Dr Liu Shao-Haei responded to media reports about a 6-year-old Nepalese boy who died recently, whose death certificate indicated SARS as cause of death.

The boy admitted to hospital on April 3, suffering from a serious immune-system disease. "To be cautious," Dr Liu said, "we treated him as an atypical pneumonia patient." Doctors probed the reason for his illness to find the most appropriate treatment. The child did not respond well and eventually died.

Clinicians attributed the death to SARS, but subsequent tests - including lung tissue samples - have shown no presence of coronavirus. Other test results are not complete. "We will know the cause of death after we get the results," Dr Liu said.

Home confinement, temperature-taking measures working

There are 987 people from 358 households under home confinement, Dr Chan said. In the last day, the Department of Health has sent two more warning letters to people who have breached their orders.

"I just want to remind the community that people who are subject to home confinement must obey the rules and stay at home for 10 days without going out. This is to protect themselves and the community," she stressed.

An outgoing foreign passenger failed a temperature scan at the airport in the last day. A hospital investigation showed he was fine, and he was subsequently allowed to leave Hong Kong.

Travel arrangements to be clarified; HKU report queried

In response to media queries, Dr Chan said the Hong Kong Government is still seeking clarification from the Mainland on travel arrangements for Hong Kong passengers travelling to places there.

Responding to a University of Hong Kong report that suggests the virus may resurface again next winter, Dr Chan noted that only time will tell. "It is speculation. Whether or not it will materialise, the Hong Kong Government will continue to maintain its vigilance in trying to continue with our very robust measures in public health to contain its spread, and prevent its recurrence in the community."

We must work now to make use of this window of opportunity, she added, and thanked the doctors in Hong Kong for adding their experiences and skills to the global knowledge base concerning this new disease.