Hong Kong faces anger, worries over flu handling

---

HONG KONG, Mar 13 (AFP): Hong Kong health authorities tried Thursday to calm public fears over a flu outbreak which has left four children dead and led the city to close all primary schools and kindergartens.
It was the first time schools in this Chinese city have been closed for a health scare since the 2003 SARS epidemic, and the order came late Wednesday just hours after a flu-like illness was reported in nearly two-dozen schools.
"It was quite a difficult decision but we realise the number of infections is increasing," Health Secretary York Chow told a news conference Thursday morning, when the closures took effect.
"It's not something based entirely on public health data at the moment. But I think the public would appreciate that what we are doing might be a little drastic -- but it's reassuring to the community," he said.
All primary schools, kindergartens and nurseries in Hong Kong were shut down. But the announcement came too late for many parents, who turned up at closed schools Thursday morning with their children in tow.
The outbreak has conjured memories of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or SARS, a pneumonia-like virus which killed almost 300 people in Hong Kong five years ago and set off international health concerns.