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CNN Live Sunday
Reports of SARS Deaths Have Hong Kong Residents on Edge
Aired April 20, 2003 - 17:25 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOPHIA CHOI, CNN ANCHOR: In Hong Kong, reports of new SARS deaths have residents on edge.
ITN reporter Adrian Brown has the story from there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ADRIAN BROWN, ITN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Easter mass in Hong Kong, a congregation trying to hide its face, a congregation now adapting to life with SARS and praying, too, that it's not a disease that's here to stay. More people are now dying of SARS here than anywhere else. And so on this weekend, an unprecedented campaign to disinfect a densely populated city. A government orchestrated cleanup tailored for the cameras. But it won't prevent the death toll rising. Hong Kong's grip on this virus may be weakening.
(on camera): As it was before the handover in 1997, the question for many British expatriates here is whether to go or stay. The rising death toll from SARS giving many pause for thought and testing Hong Kong's legendary resilience once more.
(voice-over): Alistair and Anna Lamont are not joining the British exodus. And on this sweltering day, face masks are absent. With the virus spreading, they say what's the point of leaving.
ALISTAIR LAMONT, EXPATRIATE: This will go everywhere, so it's not about going to other places. It's about realizing that this is here to stay.
BROWN: With an 8-month-old daughter, the O'Donahue family are restricting their outings. Angela O'Donahue is leaving for the U.K. next week. The coming weeks will determine if she returns.
ANGELA O'DONAHUE, EXPATRIATE: We booked for a month to go back for other reasons. And then we'll reassess up to one month and see whether we want to come back, to see if the situation's gotten any worse.
ANNA LAMONT, EXPATRIATE: There's nothing that's really made us think get out of here just yet.
BROWN: But in the same city, another world. The Cho (ph) family leave their tiny apartment for a Sunday stroll through the shops. Recent additions to the grocery list include fresh supplies of face masks and anti-bacterial gel. You don't leave home without them. Unlike the Britons here who can still leave, there's no way out for the Chos or millions of others like them. A modern metropolis at the mercy of a medieval style virus.
Adrian Brown, ITV News, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired April 20, 2003 - 17:25 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOPHIA CHOI, CNN ANCHOR: In Hong Kong, reports of new SARS deaths have residents on edge.
ITN reporter Adrian Brown has the story from there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ADRIAN BROWN, ITN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Easter mass in Hong Kong, a congregation trying to hide its face, a congregation now adapting to life with SARS and praying, too, that it's not a disease that's here to stay. More people are now dying of SARS here than anywhere else. And so on this weekend, an unprecedented campaign to disinfect a densely populated city. A government orchestrated cleanup tailored for the cameras. But it won't prevent the death toll rising. Hong Kong's grip on this virus may be weakening.
(on camera): As it was before the handover in 1997, the question for many British expatriates here is whether to go or stay. The rising death toll from SARS giving many pause for thought and testing Hong Kong's legendary resilience once more.
(voice-over): Alistair and Anna Lamont are not joining the British exodus. And on this sweltering day, face masks are absent. With the virus spreading, they say what's the point of leaving.
ALISTAIR LAMONT, EXPATRIATE: This will go everywhere, so it's not about going to other places. It's about realizing that this is here to stay.
BROWN: With an 8-month-old daughter, the O'Donahue family are restricting their outings. Angela O'Donahue is leaving for the U.K. next week. The coming weeks will determine if she returns.
ANGELA O'DONAHUE, EXPATRIATE: We booked for a month to go back for other reasons. And then we'll reassess up to one month and see whether we want to come back, to see if the situation's gotten any worse.
ANNA LAMONT, EXPATRIATE: There's nothing that's really made us think get out of here just yet.
BROWN: But in the same city, another world. The Cho (ph) family leave their tiny apartment for a Sunday stroll through the shops. Recent additions to the grocery list include fresh supplies of face masks and anti-bacterial gel. You don't leave home without them. Unlike the Britons here who can still leave, there's no way out for the Chos or millions of others like them. A modern metropolis at the mercy of a medieval style virus.
Adrian Brown, ITV News, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
