Update | Don't panic over Mers, Hongkongers urged as all suspected cases test negative for virus
Health official urges public not to panic as expanded health definitions likely to give rise to more 'suspected' cases
Don’t panic about Middle East respiratory syndrome, Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection urged this morning, as it announced it would provide twice daily updates on tests of suspected cases.
The centre this afternoon confirmed that all 33 suspected cases reported as of noon yesterday had tested negative for the virus.
“So far, there is no confirmed Mers infection case in Hong Kong, I hope that the public would not [panic] and go off their feet,” Leung said.
Read more: How to avoid the Mers virus
He also said the centre did not order the high-profile closure of a clinic in Tsing Yi yesterday after a 22-year-old woman who sought treatment there was sent to hospital as a suspected case.
There were standard guidelines for medical clinics on how they should sterilise their premises after reporting a suspected case, and a closure would be necessary only if the case were confirmed to be positive, he said.
The woman, who was one of four people reported by the Quality Healthcare group yesterday as a suspected case, tested negative for the virus.
As the definition of suspected cases has widened to cover all people who developed flu-like symptoms after visiting South Korea, Leung expected more cases to turn up every day.