An audience wears masks against the flu-like SARS virus during a gems
show at a Chinese arts and craft store in Hong Kong May 6, 2003. Hong
Kong's retail sales slipped in March as businesses were clobbered by
the SARS outbreak that left consumers too frightened to venture out of
their homes and onto the territory's crowded streets. The government
said in a statement on Tuesday that retail sales fell six percent to
HK$14,2 billion (US$182 million) in March from a year ago.
REUTERS/Bobby Yip

BY/FA