Health authorities in Hong Kong will hold an inter-departmental exercise simulating a public health incident on June 6 to get prepared for the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic equestrian events.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said Thursday in a news bulletin that objective of the Exercise Equator was to "validate interdepartmental procedures and contingency plans on public health incidents and to further enhance co-ordination and co-operation among government departments."

Ground movement capacity including field investigation, management of patients at the Olympic Village clinic and transfer of patients will be tested in the drill, which is to be conducted by the Center for Health Protection of the Department of Health.

More than 100 people from related government departments and organizations will take part in the exercise, the news bulletin said.

The Center for Health Protection said representatives from government departments and local organizations and experts from the Chinese Ministry of Health and the Beijing Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention will attend the exercise as observers.

(Xinhua News Agency June 6, 2008)