Hong Kong Sars Outbreak Ends

Hong Kong breathed a huge sigh of relief yesterday when the World Health Organisation removed it from the list of Sars-affected areas, after four months in which almost 300 people died and 1,750 were infected.

No new cases have been reported in the territory for 20 days, allowing the WHO to conclude that "the chain of human-to-human transmission [has been] broken".

"This is a very significant achievement," the WHO head of communicable diseases, David Heymann, said yesterday. "Hong Kong, with its dense population and fluid border with China, had one of the hardest outbreaks to control."

The news was welcomed by Hong Kong's chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa, who met the media at the Amoy Gardens housing estate, where hundreds were infected.

Mr Tung said it was a time to express sorrow for the victims, not to celebrate, and acknowledged that "we did not act promptly at the early stage of the crisis". His unelected government had been criticised for its unwillingness at the outset of the epidemic to take decisive action that could upset Beijing.

A doctor from neighbouring Guangzhou first spread Sars when he stayed at a Kowloon hotel in February. Fellow-guests then carried the virus to Singapore, Canada and Vietnam.

The virus is thought to have been defeated for the time being by rigorous quarantine measures: all people entering or leaving Hong Kong are monitored for signs of fever. However, there are fears that it may return when the hot summer is over.

China has reported more than 5,300 cases, with Beijing still subject to a WHO travel warning. A significant number of cases are causing concern in Toronto and Taiwan.