There was a single new case of SARS reported in the last day, marking the 22nd day in a row that the number of new cases remains in single digits.

Director of Health Dr Margaret Chan told the daily press briefing that that new confirmed case was a Caritas Medical Center patient who had displayed SARS symptoms in early May and had been isolated and put under observation since then.

Blood tests for the coronavirus turned up positive, so the patient was confirmed to have SARS.

A total of 1,275 patients - more than 73% of all confirmed cases - have recovered and been discharged from public hospitals. Of them, nine were sent home today.

Most of the 112 patients currently in hospital under active care are responding positively to the new treatment protocol. Of them, 38, are receiving treatment in intensive-care units, including eight healthcare workers.

Another 72 patients are recovering in convalescence, in preparation for discharge.

Four people died, three women and a man ranging in age from 68 to 74. A 71-year-old woman who died had a history of chronic illness. This brings to 266 the number of SARS-related deaths.

There are 11 suspected cases, including two new ones.

There are 479 homes, involving 1,225 people, under the home-confinement programme. No new warning letters have been issued.

Airport, boundary checkpoint measures work smoothly

At the airport, a visitor failed the temperature screening and was referred to hospital for observation. Two other travellers, at the Lo Wu and Man Kam To boundary crossings, also failed the temperature check and were also sent to hospital for observation.

Director of Health Dr Chan said they had no signs of SARS symptoms. She reiterated that, although the World Health Organisation has lifted its travel advisory for Hong Kong, health check measures at all boundary crossings would remain in place for at least one year.

Seniors request holiday camp stay

While there were no new cases in any housing estates, a review of the situation at Wing Shui House in Lek Yuen Estate is continuing. Weeks after an initial small outbreak, another household became infected, prompting the Department of Health to take extra precautions.

Lab tests are not completed on environmental samples taken from the residential block. However, the department has taken the temperature of every member of every household on the fourth floor, and set up a temperature-check station in the lift lobby for any resident of the block to use. No one was found to have a high temperature.

In the course of home visits to ask what sort of assistance residents might require, an elderly couple asked to be moved to a holiday camp for 10 days. The department agreed.

Two healthcare workers new suspected cases

A nurse at Caritas Medical Centre and a healthcare assistant at Northern District Hospital have been classified as suspected cases and have been put into quarantine, under surveillance. Contact tracing is underway.

Guidelines for wearing face masks

Now that the SARS outbreak appears to have stabilised, Dr Chan said the guidelines for wearing masks may change. Healthcare workers in hospitals and clinics taking care of patients should definitely continue to wear masks, she said.

Patients suffering from respiratory disease should continue to wear them, too, as should people in crowded places and areas that have poor ventilation.

While the department initially recommended wearing masks in cinemas and shopping malls, she said people should assess the situation. If these places are not too crowded, and if the ventilation is good, they may not need to wear a mask.

She recommended that people always have a mask on hand, though, in case they unexpectedly encounter a situation in which they would want to wear it.

Maintain vigilance

Dr Chan admitted that there are different schools of thought about whether or not SARS will rear its ugly head again next winter, and even about whether it has become endemic.

"We feel it is important to remain vigilant, irrespective of what the likely outcome would be," she said. "It pays to be careful, it pays to be cautious, it pays to do more."