Avian Flu Diary: Hong Kong Announces 3 More Imported Cases Of Novel Coronavirus

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Today Hong Kong announced their 3rd, 4th, and 5th confirmed novel coronavirus case. Two cases are husband and wife, and their daughter is symptomatic and is currently being tested.

As of this writing, the Hong Kong's Response level remains at SERIOUS.

CHP investigates three additional imported cases of novel coronavirus infection

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) has been investigating three additional imported cases of novel coronavirus infection since yesterday (January 24). The public is again urged to maintain strict personal, food and environmental hygiene both locally and during travel.

The first case involved a 62-year-old female who lives in Wuhan, Hubei Province with good past health. According to the information she provided, she travelled from Wuhan to Shenzhenbei (G1013) and then from Shenzhenbei to Hong Kong (G6543) by High-Speed Rail on January 19. She developed fever and cough on January 20. She sought medical treatment at Tuen Mun Hospital’s Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department on January 23 and was admitted for isolation yesterday (January 24). She is now in stable condition. Her respiratory samples were tested positive for novel coronavirus.

The CHP has immediately commenced epidemiological investigations and conducted relevant contact tracing. According to the patient, she had visited a wet market in Wuhan and a relative with cough in a hospital there during the incubation period, but had no exposure to wild animals. Preliminary investigations revealed that she came to Hong Kong together with her husband to visit their daughter and son-in-law and stayed at South Hillcrest in Tuen Mun. Her husband, daughter and son-in-law are asymptomatic and will be transferred to Lady MacLehose Holiday Village for quarantine.

The other two cases involve a couple from Wuhan, who are a 62-year-old woman and a 63-year-old man with good past health. According to the information they provided, they took High-Speed Rail from Wuhan at 2.20pm on January 22 and arrived at the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link at around 8pm that evening. The woman developed fever on January 23 while her husband developed cough on the same day and then fever on January 24. The couple attended the Prince of Wales Hospital’s A&E Department on January 23 and were admitted for isolation. They are in stable condition. The respiratory samples of both patients were tested positive for novel coronavirus.

According to the patients, they neither visited any health care facilities, wet market or seafood market during the incubation period, nor had any exposure to wild animals or poultry or contact with patients with symptoms of pneumonia or upper respiratory tract infection. Preliminary investigations revealed that the couple stayed at Lake Silver in Ma On Shan with their daughter and a domestic helper. Their daughter developed fever since January 23 and will be transferred to Prince of Wales Hospital for isolation. The domestic helper is asymptomatic and will be transferred to Lady MacLehose Holiday Village for quarantine.

The CHP has set up a hotline (2125 1122) for the cases, which operates from 8am to 9pm daily to answer public enquiries. As at 4pm yesterday (January 24), a total of 221 calls were received.

Meanwhile, the CHP is closely monitoring an overseas confirmed case of novel coronavirus infection involving a patient who boarded the flight KA853 on 19 January 2020 from Wuhan to Hong Kong for transit and departed on CX500 on the same day after onset of symptoms. Members of the public who had travelled in these two flights are urged to call the hotline.

The CHP is continuing its epidemiological investigations and relevant contact tracing of the five confirmed imported cases in Hong Kong. As at 10pm yesterday, the progress on the contact tracing of cases is as below:

Quarantine will be arranged for close contacts while medical surveillance will be arranged for other contacts. The Lady MacLehose Holiday Village under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department has been converted as quarantine centre and close contacts would be transferred to the village for quarantine.

A dedicated webpage (www.chp.gov.hk/en/features/102465.html) has been set up by the CHP to provide relevant information and health advice on Severe Respiratory Disease associated with a Novel Infectious Agent. Information of the latest notifications received from the Mainland and overseas will be updated to the CHP website (www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/statistics_of_the_cases_novel_coronavirus_infection_en.pdf) daily at 9am and 6pm to help the public grasp information on the affected countries/areas.

A spokesman for the CHP said, "The CHP will continue to maintain its liaison with the National Health Commission, the World Health Organization and the relevant health authorities, and closely monitor the situation for risk assessment."

(Continue . . . )

Hong Kong has once again converted the Lady MacLehose Holiday Village and turned it into a quarantine center. We've seen this done previously when contacts of both H7N9 cases and MERS required a place where they could be placed under observation.

The Holiday camp is describe as : Each bungalow, which can accommodate 3 to 15 persons, is self-contained with a sitting room, bedroom(s) and a toilet with shower facilities. The Camp has a capacity of 280 campers.