We'll be ready next time, health official says, as the contingency plan is revealed
The government in Guangdong has earmarked 1.5 billion yuan (HK$1.4 billion) to prepare for the possible return of Sars, according to a senior mainland health official.
It has also drafted a contingency plan that will see most medical experts responding to emergency calls in 30 minutes.
Wang Zhiqiong, deputy director-general of the Guangdong Department of Health, said: 'The 1.5 billion yuan will be the sum given out by Guangdong's government alone. There are also resources to be put in by individual cities. The total sum will be enormous.'
Dr Wang said the department had prepared both a contingency plan and a three-level alert system, depending on the scale of any Sars outbreak.
'We have been staying on high alert at all times, even after our last Sars case reported in July. We have learned a lesson from the outbreak. At that time we did not understand the disease and many health-care workers got infected. If it returns, we will be well-prepared,' she said.
Dr Wang said the department was highly concerned about the Sars case reported in Singapore this week. A meeting yesterday concluded that health surveillance at borders and ports would be maintained for two more years.
