Education secretary Michael Suen Ming-yeung, who has kidney failure and is battling legionnaires' disease, was released from hospital intensive care yesterday, but doctors said he is expected to take at least week to recover. The 67-year-old's fever has subsided, they said.
Suen (pictured) was admitted to Queen Mary Hospital on Sunday with symptoms of pneumonia and transferred immediately to intensive care.
'[The disease] can be very dangerous,' said Dr Chan Wai-ming, head of the hospital's intensive care unit. 'But he is in a satisfactory condition, as shown by vital signs like blood pressure and respiration.'
Suen has been on kidney dialysis since October last year.
He may have become infected with legionnaires' disease - a potentially fatal form of pneumonic triggered by bacteria - during a trip to Guangdong earlier this month.
His spokesman confirmed the diagnosis on Wednesday after public health officials announced an unidentified local man had contracted legionnaires' disease.
The soonest Suen is expected back at work is January 3.