Subject:  China and Hong Kong Travel Warnings April 16, 2003

China Travel Warning
April 16, 2003

This Travel Warning is being revised to inform U.S. citizens of updated requirements of the government of China for anyone exhibiting Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or SARS-like symptoms. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of State continue to recommend U.S. citizens consider deferring non-essential travel to China because of SARS concerns. This supersedes the Travel Warning of April 10, 2003.

As a precautionary measure due to the SARS situation, on April 1, 2003, the Department of State authorized the departure, on a voluntary basis, of non-emergency employees and all family members at the Consulates General in Guangzhou and the Special Administrative Region (SAR) of Hong Kong. On April 3, 2003, the Department authorized voluntary departure of non-emergency employees and all family members at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and the U.S. Consulates General in Chengdu, Shanghai, and Shenyang. The Embassy and all Consulates General remain open to provide the full range of services to American citizens and the general public.

The Department of State also alerts Americans to China's current practices with respect to SARS. These are subject to change. As of April 16, any individual in China, including foreigners, who displays SARS-related symptoms will be sent to a designated hospital until the SARS' contagious phase has passed. In some locations the patient may not be able to receive visitors, including his/her own doctor or family members. Medical evacuation of SARS patients from China has become problematic, both in securing transport and in locating a destination willing to accept such patients. Many countries in the region have indicated they will not admit SARS patients for treatment. All of these factors, in addition to continuing uncertainties about how SARS is spread and concerns about obtaining suitable medical care and/or evacuating those who contract SARS, led to the decision of the Department of State to authorize, on a voluntary basis, the departure of official non-emergency employees and all family members from China.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends U.S. citizens defer elective or non-essential travel to areas with a large number of SARS cases, including Mainland China and Hong Kong. U.S. citizens resident or traveling in these areas should closely monitor the website of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov and the website of the World Health Organization at www.who.int for the latest information on SARS.

For further information on travel to China, U.S. citizens should also consult the Department of State's Consular Information Sheets for China and Hong Kong and the SARS Public Announcement, at http://travel.state.gov.


Beijing: The U.S. Embassy in China is located at 2 Xiu Shui Dong Jie, Beijing 100600, telephone: (86-10) 6532-3431, 6532-3831, and after-hours: (86-10) 6532-1910; fax (86-10) 6532-4153. The U.S. Embassy web site address is http://www.usembassy-china.org.cn and the e-mail address is AmCitBeijing@state.gov. The Embassy consular district includes the following provinces/regions of China: Beijing, Tianjin, Shandong, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, and Jiangxi.

Chengdu: The U.S. Consulate General in Chengdu is located at Number 4, Lingshiguan Road, Section 4, Renmin Nanlu, Chengdu 610041, telephone: (86-28) 558-3992, 555-3119; fax (86-28) 558-3520; after-hours (86-0) 13708001422. This consular district includes the following provinces/regions of China: Guizhou, Sichuan Xizang (Tibet), and Yunnan, as well as the municipality of Chongqing.

Guangzhou: The U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou is located at Number 1 South Shamian Street, Shamian Island 200S1, Guangzhou 510133; telephone: (86-20) 8121-8418; after-hours: (86-)139-0229-3169; fax: (86-20) 8121-8428. This consular district includes the following provinces/regions of China: Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, and Fujian.

Shanghai: The U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai is located at 1469 Huaihai Zhonglu, Shanghai 200031 telephone: (86-21) 6433-6880, after-hours: (86-21) 6433-3936; fax: (86-21) 6471-1493, 6433-4122, 6471-1148. This consular district includes the following provinces/regions of China: Shanghai, Anhui, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang.

Shenyang: The U.S. Consulate General in Shenyang is located at No. 52, 14th Wei Road, Heping District, Shenyang 110003, telephone: (86-24) 2322-1198, 2322-0368; after-hours: (86-0) 13704019790; fax (86-24) 2322-2374. This consular district includes the following provinces/regions of China: Liaoning, Heilongjiang, and Jilin.

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Hong Kong Travel Warning
April 16, 2003 

This Travel Warning is being revised to recommend U.S. citizens consider deferring non-essential travel to Hong Kong because of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) concerns and to inform them of updated requirements of the government of Hong Kong for anyone exhibiting SARS-like symptoms. This supersedes the Travel Warning of April 1, 2003.

On April 1, 2003, the Department of State authorized the departure, on a voluntary basis, of non-emergency employees and all family members at the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong as a precautionary measure due to the SARS situation. The Consulate General remains open to provide the full range of services to American citizens and the general public.

The Department of State also alerts Americans to Hong Kong's current practices with regard to SARS. These practices are subject to change. As of April 16, any individual in Hong Kong, foreign travelers or residents included, who displays SARS-related symptoms will be admitted to a designated hospital for treatment and observation. As long as the patient is deemed contagious, he/she will not be able to receive visitors, including personal physicians and family members. Health professionals do not know comprehensively when and how SARS is spread or how best to treat it, leading to concerns about obtaining suitable medical care. No vaccine or cure is currently available. Many countries in the region have indicated they will not admit SARS patients for treatment, and medical evacuation has not yet become an established practice. Given all of these factors, the U.S. Department of State decided to authorize, on a voluntary basis, the departure of official non-emergency employees and all family members from Hong Kong.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends U.S. citizens defer elective or non-essential travel to areas with a large number of SARS cases, including Mainland China and Hong Kong. U.S. citizens resident or traveling in these areas should closely monitor the website of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov and the website of the World Health Organization at www.who.int for the latest information on SARS.

For further information on travel to Hong Kong, U.S. citizens should also consult the Department of State's Consular Information Sheets for China and Hong Kong and the SARS Public Announcement at http://travel.state.gov.


The U.S. Consulate General is located at 26 Garden Road, Central, Hong Kong. The mailing address is PSC 461, Box 5, FPO AP 96521-006, tel. (852) 2523-9011, fax (852) 2845-4845: Internet: http://hongkong.usconsulate.gov.