The Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) government will spare
no cost in containing viral pneumonia, despite the pinch of the
economic slump," Edmund Ho Hau Wah, chief executive of the SAR, has
said.
The Press Office said Tuesday that the chief executive made the
remarks to the experts and officials at the meeting on the disease
control and funding assistance to small businesses Monday.
Ho
said that although Macao's economy has been bitterly hit by the
spread of the disease in neighboring regions, the priority task of
the SAR government should still focus on the disease control and
prevention.
The situation in the surrounding regions is turning on a good sign,
which has been conducive to Macao's disease control effort, said
Ho. The Hong Kong SAR and south China's Guangdong Province have
basically curbed the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
(SARS) with the reduction of the number of newly-infected
patients.
Macao's economy, which mainly depends on tourism and gaming
industries, has been further dampened by the mainland's decision to
shorten the week-long holiday on the Labor Day and Guangdong's ban
of outbound travels to Macao last week. However, Ho said, the moves
eye on a larger picture of people's interest, since less population
flow across the border between Guangdong and Macao could alleviate
the chance of the epidemic transmission to Macao, which has no
confirmed case of SARS.
He
vowed to accelerate the financial assistance program for small and
medium-sized businesses to ride through the hard time.
Ho
on Monday also endorsed the Health Service the right to
independently execute mandatory isolation measures and entry
restrictions, and the SAR government promulgated a notice declaring
that the spread of rumors on false SARS information should be
submitted to criminal punishment.
Despite the foreseeable tourist doldrums in the golden travel
season of May, the SAR government has made preparations for the
holiday travel tide by putting on a high alert on quarantine checks
at the entry checkpoints. Three new infrared outfits will be in
service on May 1 to measure visitors' body temperature upon their
entry. While, medical staff involved in medical consultative
services will be maneuvered to aid border checks or receive SARS
treatment training in May.
(Xinhua News Agency April 29, 2003)