Photo Credit - HK Gov
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We've heard little more than the sound of crickets over the past 3 days from Mainland China on their outbreak of unidentified pneumonia, but neighboring jurisdictions - including Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, Macao, and Hong Kong - are all monitoring the situation carefully and have ordered vigorous public health actions to detect and isolate potential cases.
The public health threat from this unidentified virus remains far from certain, and China (as of Sunday) continues to downplay its ability to spread from person-to-person, but yesterday Hong Kong authorised new law to make `Severe Respiratory Disease associated with a Novel Infectious Agent' A Statutorily Notifiable Disease.Over the past 24 hours Hong Kong has identified, and hospitalized, 8 more patients with respiratory symptoms and recent travel from Wuhan - but without a diagnosis or a definitive test - it is impossible to say whether any of them are related to the Wuhan pneumonia cluster.
Given the high incidence of flu and other respiratory viruses that are currently circulating, most of these cases are almost certainly due to something unremarkable. But given the carnage caused by SARS 17 years ago, no one is willing to take any chances with an unknown threat.
Yesterday the Hong Kong Hospital Authority announced new Blood Donation Precautionary Measures in Response to the Wuhan Pneumonia Cases, and today they have announced even more stringent surveillance and infection control measures.
Public hospitals further enhances surveillance and infection control measures
The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The Hospital Authority (HA) convened the Central Command Committee meeting today (January 8) and decided to further enhance the surveillance and infection control measures in public hospitals, amid exploring the feasibility of deferring some non-emergency services so as to centralise resources and manpower to cope with the suspected cases related to the viral pneumonia with unknown cause in Wuhan, and try to allay the pressure of frontline healthcare workers as far as possible.
The following enhanced measures have been implemented with immediate effect:
- Enhance the HA laboratory service. The rapid test result can be available as early as before 24 hours so as to confirm whether the patients are infected with infectious diseases and to discharge patients without isolation need to other wards for further treatment;
- Adjust ventilation system to increase fresh air exchange in public hospitals and clinics so as to enhance air flow and to reduce the risk of spreading virus;
- Transfer stable patient to rehabilitation or convalescence wards, and in accordance to the agreement with two private hospitals to transfer out patients for continuous treatment in order to vacate acute beds to meet emergency need; and
- Depending on the situation, HA will explore the feasibility to defer the elective surgeries and non-emergency services.
"Since the activation of Serious Response Level last Saturday, a series of response measures have been implemented in public hospitals. During winter surge, number of patients requiring public hospital services keeps increasing, amid from handling the suspected cases related to the viral pneumonia with unknown cause in Wuhan, leading to increasing workload of healthcare workers in public hospitals. We will monitor the situation and implement every feasible measure to alleviate the workload of frontline healthcare workers and to avoid any hospital emergency service being affected," spokeperson for HA said.
The current stockpile of personal protection equipment in public hospitals exceeds 90-days consumption and public hospitals have a total of about 1 400 negative pressure insolation beds. Public hospitals will allocate the patients without isolation need flexibly to facilitate patients who require isolation to admit to those beds accordingly. HA will closely monitor the usage of isolation beds and the stockpile of personal protection equipment, and will allocate flexibly through central coordination mechanism so as to encounter emergency situation.
HA will maintain close contact with the Centre for Health Protection to monitor the latest development and to timely inform the public and healthcare workers the latest information.
Ends/Wednesday, January 8, 2020
Issued at HKT 20:25
Whatever is going on in China, public health authorities in neighboring regions are beginning to look about as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.
Stay tuned.
