In response to the confirmation of Hong Kong's first imported case of Influenza A (H1N1) ("swine influenza", or "swine flu") on May 1, 2009, Dragonair will step-up its precautionary measures to help protect the health of its staff and passengers. The followings are two additional measures that the airline is implementing.

1. Public health alert notice at aiports' check-in counters.

Dragonair will post a public health alert notice at airports' check-in counters advising passengers that if they are feeling unwell with fever and other symptoms, such as cough, sore throat, runny nose, headache, muscle aches, vomiting or diarrhea, they should immediately identify themselves to airline staff for assistance or deferring their travels until they have recovered or sought medical attention. Ideally sick passengers should be identified early before they board any flights.

At this stage WHO has not issued any travel advisories against travels to any countries.

2. Supporting staff request to wear masks.

In accordance with IATA/WHO guidelines, Dragonair has communicated to staff about the following when considering wearing masks:

• Staff are sick with respiratory symptoms;
• Staff are living in a household with someone who has respiratory symptoms; and
• Staff are the designated care-giver looking after a sick person (It is also advisable that if staff is the one designated to look after the sick passenger, he/she should give them a mask and consider wearing one him/herself).

For personal considerations, staff choosing to wear masks may do so and should discuss this with their supervisors.

It is important to remember that basic personal hygiene are still the cornerstone of infection prevention (staying home if ill, cough etiquette, frequent washing of hands).

Staff are also advised to take temperature check at home before going to work.

The latest observations are that the outbreak appears to be stabilizing/on the decline in Mexico, its epicenter. Further, this Influenza A/H1N1 strain appears to cause relatively mild disease.

Globally, seasonal flu causes an estimated 3-5 million cases of severe illness and 250,000 to 500,000 deaths per year according to WHO.

Currently, this new swine flu strain does not appear to be much worse than the seasonal flu variation.

However, in light of the escalating concerns with the global threat, and for various personal reasons, we understand some of our staff may be anxious about the situation and may wish to wear a mask.