The World Health Organization (WHO)'s Executive Director for Communicable Diseases David Heymann said Hong Kong's time to be excluded from the infected area list for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is soon to come.
Heymann made the remarks Monday at a new conference after winding up his one-day trip to Hong Kong.
"It's a very simple decision. Twenty days after the last case was isolated, the country (region) is automatically removed from the list of countries (regions) of global transmission. So twenty days after the last case was isolated in Hong Kong, it will be automatically removed from the list.
"We believe that time is approaching. Right now we are working on what date," Heymann said.
Heymann distinctly stressed that the elements of politics are ruled out in determining what countries and regions should be on the WHO infected area list for SARS.
"Information obtained from the infected areas will be used now by the (WHO's) director-general to determine when countries (regions) can come off the list.
"The director-general only made her recommendations based on a technical issue of an isolated technical team," he stressed, adding public health cannot be interfered with by political lobbying.
"Our director general clearly "shielded the technical activities from that," he continued.
Heymann also said Taiwan province and Beijing are not linked asfar as travel recommendations are concerned. "They are independent.The assessment is independent of each area where there is disease," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency June 17, 2003)
