Plane to evacuate tour group in Taiwan

HONG KONG reported 12 new SARS deaths but a lower level of new cases yesterday and was sending a plane to evacuate a Hong Kong tour group that has been quarantined in Taiwan.

The 12 deaths from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome a record one-day high that has been hit for the third time bring the local death toll to 150, the highest in the world.

The tour group of more than 30 people had been confined in a hotel in Taipei since April 26 after a six-year-old girl among them was suspected to have contracted SARS and sent to hospital.

"The Hong Kong government will arrange a special plane to take this group of Hong Kong citizens back," Secretary for Constitutional Affairs Stephen Lam told a news conference.

He said the group of 33, including the girl and the tour escort, would be flown back late yesterday and that Taiwanese authorities had agreed to this.

Hong Kong Director of Health Margaret Chan told the news conference other group members had agreed to let the girl return on the same flight if protective gear and face masks were provided on board with appropriate seating arrangements.

"Upon their arrival, everyone will be assessed and I'll have to look at the girl's situation. And we may put members of the whole group under home confinement," Chan said.

The quarantine would be for 10 days, the maximum incubation period for the SARS virus before victims start showing symptoms fever, chills, dry cough and breathing difficulties.

While Taiwanese authorities suspected the girl to be infected, Chan said she had in the past two days been tested negative for SARS, had no fever and normal chest X-rays.

Hong Kong Hospital Authority Senior Executive Manager Liu Shao-haei told the news conference the SARS virus had infected another 15 people locally, bringing the city's cumulative cases to 1,572, the world's second highest after mainland China, where it first appeared in November.

But the number of new cases in the past few days has declined notably from about 20 to 40 new daily cases previously.

Liu said 92 patients were in serious condition and 49 more patients were discharged yesterday, bringing the number of discharged patients to 759.

The flu-like disease, which originated in southern China, hit Hong Kong in March and has been spread around the world by travellers.