The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The spokesperson for Castle Peak Hospital (CPH) made the following announcement today (December 21) regarding a staff member who has tested preliminarily positive for COVID-19:
A nurse of the Department of General Adult Psychiatry at CPH returned to Hong Kong from the United Kingdom yesterday (December 20) and tested preliminarily positive during the "test-and-hold" arrangement upon arrival at the Temporary Specimen Collection Centre at Hong Kong International Airport. The staff member is now being treated under isolation with stable condition.
Upon learning of the test result, the Infection Control Team of CPH immediately conducted contact tracing. It was noted that the staff member had worked on November 29 and 30 before leaving Hong Kong. The staff member is mainly responsible for the management of ward operation and had attended a work meeting with other wards on November 30. The staff member has not performed any patient care duties. The staff member and other staff members had been wearing surgical masks during work and therefore no staff member or patient was identified as a close contact. While the chance of the staff member getting infected before leaving Hong Kong was very low, the hospital arranged COVID-19 tests for a total of 25 staff members who are working in the same ward and participants of the meeting concerned as a precautionary measure with advice from the Centre for Health Protection (CHP). All results were negative.
The ward concerned has suspended admission and thorough cleaning and disinfection have been conducted. The hospital will continue to closely monitor the health condition of staff members and communicate with the CHP on the latest situation.
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