Hong Kong has beefed up efforts to combat severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), a government press release quoted a senior Hong Kong official as saying Saturday.

Speaking at the Second Joint Meeting of Senior Health Officials of the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao held in Macao Saturday, Hong Kong's Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food Yeoh Eng-kiong pointed out that though SARS has been brought under control, the possibility of its return can not be ruled out.

"From the experiences we have gained, we know we need to strengthen our prevention and control work to better prepare ourselves against SARS and other infectious diseases," he said.

He said a checklist of measures to fight SARS was issued last month for public consultation, which reflects the three-pronged approach adopted by the government.

Firstly, comprehensive and cross-community disease preventive measures have been put in place in Hong Kong to guard against the resurgence of the disease, Yeoh said.

He added that they have maintained a close and effective disease surveillance system and prepared contingency plans to deal with the possible resurgence of SARS at all levels to combat the disease swiftly and responsively.

Moreover, they would also take positive steps to implement, as quickly as possible, the 46 recommendations put forward by a SARS committee which embody a comprehensive range of measures to enhance the preparedness of Hong Kong against SARS.

In the prevention front, the government has taken enhanced action in monitoring medical regulatory requirements and food hygiene and regulatory control, he said.

(Xinhua News Agency October 26, 2003)