Hong Kong should get ready at any moment for the possible return of SARS, said members of a SARS expert committee Tuesday.

At a press conference, Sian Griffiths, co-chairman of the Hong Kong SARS expert committee, said that due to uncertainty about whether or not SARS is gone for good, and the possibility of new diseases emerging at any time, it is needed to maintain the personal hygiene messages so that they are embedded in the culture, and in the children.

Griffiths urged the media to drive home the need for good personal and environmental hygiene. "I want the message to go universally -- germs don't recognize borders."

Hong Kong should make the best preparation such as fully cleaning up of the city and improvement of the health care system, said Lee Shiu-hung, member of public health group of the expert committee.

Tang Xiaoping, member of hospital management and administration group, said that Guangdong Province and Hong Kong should strengthen cooperation and exchange if SARS comes back again in the future.

The committee, made up of experts from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, England, Australia and the United States, aims to examine and review the SARS outbreak earlier in Hong Kong and deliberate on recommendations to be made to the government of the Special Administrative Region.

The committee expresses admiration of local healthcare workers. The committee has met Legislative Council members, representatives from the Hospital Authority and public health sector, members of the community, Amoy Gardens residents, operators of old age homes and the media.

The committee is compiling its report on the handling of the SARS outbreak in Hong Kong, and will release the report on Oct. 2.

(Xinhua News Agency August 19, 2003)