Hong Kong records its 10th straight day of declining infection numbers - but things are still grim on the mainland
Hong Kong reported eight new Sars cases yesterday, its first single-digit daily increase as the decline in new infections continued for the 10th day.
Although it is heartening news, the government said it would be difficult to predict if the trend would hold for such 'a capricious virus'.
The eight cases, including one health-care worker from Tuen Mun Hospital, bring to 1,629 the number of cases since the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak began at the Prince of Wales Hospital in March.
Five people died from Sars yesterday - four men and a woman aged between 43 and 78. All but one had been chronically ill. A total of 184 people have now been killed by the deadly lung infection.
A further 19 people have recovered and been discharged from hospitals, for a total of 917, officials said.