Coronavirus: officer becomes 69th case in Hong Kong after attending party with 59 others, all of whom have been asked to avoid public
- The officer was at a party on February 18 with about 59 others, who will all need to be quarantined
- Separately, a 75-year-old is thought to have contracted the pathogen and recovered , but not before passing on to others
A policeman has become the first officer to contract the deadly coronavirus in Hong Kong, taking the city’s total of infected patients to 69.
That came as health chiefs on Thursday listed their first official “probable” infected patient, adding an elderly man to their list of confirmed cases despite him never testing positive for the virus, which causes the disease Covid-19. A source said the 75-year-old was thought to have contracted the pathogen and recovered on his own, but not before passing it on to at least three relatives.
Sources said the police officer, who lives at Yau Mei Court in Yau Tong, was confirmed as infected at United Christian Hospital in Kwun Tong.
The Post was told the 48-year-old – the first policeman to be infected – had been to a farewell banquet for a colleague on February 18 attended by about 60 people, who would all need to be quarantined.
The officer is attached to the patrol sub-unit of North Point Police Station, and assigned to the tier-three platoon of the Hong Kong Island regional response contingent, which consists of 40 officers, who could now be treated as close contacts.
His wife and mother-in-law also showed symptoms of infection, and had been taken to hospital.