The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The spokesperson for the New Territories East Cluster made the following announcement today (January 13) concerning a patient who tested preliminarily positive for COVID-19:
A 29-year-old man injured at a traffic accident was sent to the Accident and Emergency Department of the Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital at 5.17pm on January 12. The patient, who was transferred to the Accident and Emergency Department of the Prince of Wales Hospital (PWH) at 7.20pm for treatment, was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on the same night. Admission screening of COVID-19 test for the patient was arranged according to established procedure and the preliminary result was positive. The patient was admitted to the isolation ward of ICU for further treatment and is currently in stable condition.
The infection control team conducted contact tracing accordingly. Eleven patients who had stayed in the same ICU ward with the preliminarily positive patient have undergone COVID-19 testing and their test results are negative. Among them, three patients who had stayed in the same cubicle have been transferred to single isolation rooms.
The hospitals have not performed any high risk medical procedures on the patient during his hospital stay, except taking nasopharyngeal swab and throat swab for COVID-19 test. COVID-19 test results of 43 staff members of the two hospitals, who had provided treatment and care to the patient, are negative. All staff members had been wearing appropriate personal protective equipment in accordance with the infection control guidelines. Four PWH doctors, who examined the unmasked patient during consultation, were classified as close contacts and will be quarantined.
Thorough cleansing and disinfection had been conducted at areas where the patient had stayed. Both hospitals would continue to closely monitor the health condition of staff and patients and communicate with the Centre for Health Protection on the latest situation.
Follow this news feed: East Asia