The government has offered a hero's burial for the woman, 35, whose death has sparked widespread grief - and anger
A 35-year-old woman doctor who volunteered to work with Sars patients in Tuen Mun Hospital died yesterday, the first public hospital doctor to die of the virus in Hong Kong.
Tse Yuen-man was infected with the virus when she tried to resuscitate a terminal Sars patient together with male nurse Lau Wing-kai, 38, who was also infected and died of the virus on April 26.
Tse's death - on a day when Hong Kong suffered a reverse in the downward trend of Sars-related deaths and new cases - was greeted with shock and grief.
Tse was a widow whose husband, also a doctor, died last year of leukaemia. They had no children.
Top officials praised her for her selflessness and dedication to her job. The government also offered to give her a permanent burial at Gallant Garden, a site reserved for civil servants who die while performing exceptional acts of bravery.
Tuen Mun Hospital chief executive Cheung Wai-lun confirmed both Tse and Lau had been infected with Sars by a patient who died of the disease early this month. They both came down with the disease on April 3. Tse was transferred to the intensive care unit on April 15 after her condition deteriorated.
