SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and bird flu will be
recognized as occupational diseases in Hong Kong following an
amendment to its Employees Compensation Ordinance.
Their addition brings the special administrative region's total
number of legally acknowledged occupational diseases to 48.
Hong Kong's Labor Department said on Monday that the amendment
provides better protection to employees, expediting the
compensation process for those infected.
Employees engaged in high-risk occupations involving close and
frequent contact with SARS or Avian Influenza A infection will be
covered.
Specified high SARS-risk occupations include medical and nursing
staff, medical research or laboratory workers, pathologists, and
post-mortem or funeral services workers. Around 94,000 employees in
Hong Kong are engaged in these occupations.
High bird flu risk occupations include handlers of poultry or
other birds and uncooked or untreated bird products, and research
or laboratory workers. There are currently 5,000 people in these
occupations in Hong Kong.
(Xinhua News Agency February 8, 2005)