Press Release - June 2, 2003

The following is jointly issued by the Department of Health and the Hospital Authority of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR):

There are four new confirmed cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) today (June 2). One of these cases involves a healthcare worker of North District hospital. There were three new cases confirmed on Saturday (May 31) and another three confirmed on Sunday (June 1).

The number of patients recovered and discharged from hospital continues to rise to 1319. Of them, six were discharged on Saturday, eight on Sunday and one today.

The number of SARS patients in intensive care unit continues to drop to 25. These cases are part of the 86 cases under treatment in hospitals. Most of the patients are showing positive responses to the treatment protocol. In addition, 59 are recovering patients in convalescence and in preparation for discharge.

In addition to four deaths on Saturday and three deaths on Sunday, one more patient died in Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital (AHNH) today. This brought to 282 the total number of deaths relating to SARS in Hong Kong.

Today�s deceased was a woman aged 30. Her information is as follows: