Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa praises the dedication of Hong Kong people

Mr Tung praised the efforts of the people of Hong Kong, and said the stringent health measures that had successfully contained Sars would not be relaxed.

“What we have achieved has not been easy and has been the result of enormous efforts by all the citizens of Hong Kong. I am truly grateful for their efforts, and to the central government for their support,” he said. “However, we need to continue these efforts with the aim of eventually having no new Sars cases, and removing Hong Kong from the list of affected areas,” said Mr Tung.

“The most important thing is to get on with stringent health measures already in place to ensure the virus does not spread,” he said.

Two new Sars patients were reported today, continuing a 20-day long trend of single digit new cases.

Mr Tung said a committee would be formed to ensure that Hong Kong’s experience in controlling the virus would be used to manage future epidemics around the world. “We are forming a committee to learn from what we have done in the past and see how we can work together to fight future epidemics.”

“This is a very positive step forward and we should treasure what we have achieved,” he said.