Coronavirus: two more cases confirmed in Hong Kong, suspected to have been transmitted locally, hours after city confirms first death
- Two new cases, both in their 60s, had not travelled to mainland China recently, and health chief warns of potential for outbreak in city
- City suffers first fatality related to deadly virus originating in Wuhan, the second outside mainland China
Hong Kong has confirmed two more cases of the deadly new coronavirus, just hours after a 39-year-old man became the first to die in the city after being infected.
Health officials said there was no obvious source of infection for the two most recent cases but it was suspected it had been transmitted locally. It took the total number of cases in the city to 17.
Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection’s communicable disease branch, said so far four confirmed cases presented “no obvious source of infection”, and warned of the possibility of outbreaks in the community.
“It is highly probably the four cases were infected locally, so there could be invisible chains of infection happening within communities,” Chuang said. “We do not rule out a large spread [of the virus] in the future.”
She urged people to maintain good personal hygiene and wash their hands frequently, and said some reports had shown the virus could linger on door handles.
The Department of Health said neither patient had any recent travel history to mainland China nor family members who had crossed the border.
