The Department of Health has decided to allow athletes from Hong Kong to attend the World Special Olympic Games 2003 following a meeting today with officials from the province.
The Irish officials were presented with a proposal which, according to the Department, took into consideration the recommendations of the Irish Expert Group.
After considering it in detail the officials indicated to the Hong Kong authorities that the proposal was acceptable as it confirmed to the criteria set out by the Expert Groups on SARS.
The proposal details the measures the athletes from Hong Kong will take. They'll travel to Macau on June 9th and remain there for ten days before travelling to Dublin. Before leaving for Ireland, medical personnel from Hong Kong will assess the group.
During their ten day stay in Macau, the athletes and officials, will have their medical condition closely monitored. An Irish medical consultant will be on stand-by in Dublin on their arrival and will act as a health monitoring officer for the delegation during the course of the games.
Taiwan team still prevented from travellingThe only athletes now prevented from travelling to Dublin for the games are the delegation from Taiwan, who were due to stay in Portlaoise, as well as athletes from certain parts of China.Toronto in Canada, is still on the World Health Organisation's list of SARS-affected areas but there are no athletes from Toronto on the Canadian delegation. A spokesperson for the Special Olympics said they welcomed the Department of Health's decision in relation to Hong Kong. The spokesperson described it as "fantastic news".
Mary Davis, the CEO of the World Games 2003, welcomed the decision and said they were trying to put in place a similar arrangement for Taiwan.
