The removal of 200 tenants was reportedly delayed when some of them refused to leave
More than 200 residents of Amoy Gardens, the Kowloon Bay estate at the centre of Hong Kong's atypical pneumonia outbreak, were last night bussed out to two holiday camps - a day after their homes were placed under isolation for 10 days.
It was decided to move the residents of the estate's Block E hours after officials told residents' representatives that they would be removed if the 36-storey block remained a threat to their health.
It is understood that the removal was aimed at allowing officials to conduct a thorough investigation of the spread of the disease in Block E, which is suspected to have been accelerated by a sewage leak.
Another 52 Amoy Gardens residents were confirmed to have contracted the disease last night, bringing the total number of infected people from the estate to 237. A majority of the sick residents are from Block E.
About 20 coaches were arranged to drive the residents to two quarantine camps - the Lady MacLehose Holiday Village in Sai Kung Country Park and Lei Yue Mun Park and Holiday Village - from around 9.30pm. Health officials had briefed more than 100 households in the block at around 6pm.