By Tan Ee Lyn
Hong Kong - A teenager's website hoax about a killer virus which is sweeping Hong Kong sparked panic food buying and hit financial markets on Tuesday, forcing the government to deny it would isolate the entire territory.
"We have no plan to declare Hong Kong an infected area," said Director of Health Margaret Chan. "We have adequate supplies to provide the needs of Hong Kong citizens and there is no need for any panic run on food."
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) has now affected almost 1 900 people in at least 12 countries, and 63 are known to have died. Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous nation, reported its first three suspected cases on Tuesday.
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The epidemic has meant roaring business for cleaning companies One official said one of the patients had died.
In Hong Kong where 685 people are infected and 16 have died from the virus, authorities announced on Tuesday that they were taking more than 200 housing estate residents to isolation camps.
The fake website scare fuelled dismay in the territory adjoining China's Guangdong province, where the virus is believed to have originated four months ago.
The hoaxer had copied the format of the public Internet portal of the Mingpao, one of Hong Kong's leading newspapers, and posted a message saying the government would declare the city of seven million "an infected place".
The daily said it had identified the teenager responsible.
'We may have to lower our estimates' Police were investigating.
As the rumour spread, the Hong Kong dollar took a slight knock, and stocks fell for another day as investors calculated the loss to businesses in the tourism, airlines, property, and retail sectors.
As some supermarkets suddenly found frightened consumers pulling canned and preserved foods from their shelves, Hong Kong medical teams hunted for the reason why over 200 people in one apartment complex in urban Kowloon had fallen ill with SARS.
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