Coronavirus: study shows half of patients in mainland China had no fever during hospital admission, as Hong Kong confirms 95th case
- Chinese University respiratory medicine expert Professor David Hui says social distancing should be continued to contain the epidemic
- Recommendation comes as city confirms 95th infection
More than half of mainland China’s Covid-19 patients did not have a fever when admitted to hospital, a leading researcher said on Saturday, calling on the Hong Kong government to introduce social distancing measures such as flexible lunch hours when civil servants resume work next week, as the city recorded its 95th infection.
Chinese University respiratory medicine expert Professor David Hui Shu-cheong, who co-authored the study, also urged for more tests to be conducted in private and public clinics to enable early detection and isolation of suspected cases after the study findings showed more than 80 per cent of coronavirus inpatients had reduced lymphocyte count in their blood.
Hong Kong has been battling the spread of a novel strain of coronavirus, which causes the disease Covid-19.
The newest case, announced by the Centre for Health Protection late on Saturday, concerned a 46-year-old woman admitted to United Christian Hospital in Kwun Tong. She is the daughter-in-law of a 70-year-old woman infected on Thursday after visiting the Fook Wai Ching She Buddhist worship hall. The infection was the 15th related to the North Point venue.
As a close contact of a confirmed case, the younger woman had been held at a quarantine centre in Mei Foo since Thursday.
“She developed sore throat today and her deep throat saliva specimen was tested positive for Covid-19 virus,” the centre said in a statement on Saturday.
